Marketing 101

Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

            After today’s Gospel, we might be thinking, ‘Jesus should have taken a marketing class!’  Telling people, “‘Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me,’” is a great way to have no followers.  He should have minimized the trials and emphasized the joys, to the effect of, “Yes, there may be some sufferings, but then you’ll never have to worry about anything!!  You’ll get a glorified body, be able to rejoice at the big celebration in heaven, and it will never end!!”  Instead, the “payoff” if you will, is only at the end: “‘For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay all according to their conduct.’”

            Jesus clearly is not trying to sell us the new fad.  The life of His disciples, the life of those in the Church, is to be centered on the cross.  It’s surprising that any disciples continued to follow Jesus.  But Jesus doesn’t change his “ad.”  He doesn’t tone it down, or repackage his message to make it more appealing.  Jesus, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, sets before those who come to Him, the Way of the Cross, the Truth of suffering, and the Life that is possible only after passing through death.

            We generally hate suffering.  It is repulsive to our very nature.  Why should I have to go through pain?  I want to avoid, not embrace, suffering!  We’d rather not have to eat our vegetables to have dessert when we’re young.  We’d rather not have to go to practice and work out in order to play sports, or be in band or drama.  We’d rather not have to work hard to be able to earn a good grade in class or go on vacation from our jobs.  We’d rather not have to endure some illness or disease.  Just last week, as my great-aunt was dying, my family asked me why the woman we all loved had to endure so much pain?  Why would God allow this?

            In the midst of the problem of suffering, it would be great if the Church had a quick answer that perfectly responded to the problem and that would solve it.  It would be easy to think, ‘if I just lived perfectly, maybe I wouldn’t have to suffer.’  But that’s not the case.  Look at the Blessed Mother: what suffering she endured watching her Son die on the cross, innocent as He was.  Look at Jesus, the Beloved Son of God the Father, Who was perfect in His humanity and divinity, Who, nevertheless, was scourged, crowned with thorns, mocked, and executed in an extremely painful way.  Those who lived perfectly still had to suffer.  Yes, suffering increases in relation to our sinfulness.  But even the sinless suffer.  Even Jesus had to unite His will always to the Father’s, and take up His cross.

            In the midst of the question of suffering, the Church responds that suffering is not good in and of itself; it is something that should repulse us.  And yet, it is suffering that saves us.  Jesus’ suffering on the cross brought life, not only to Him who was raised on the third day, but also to us who were united to Him in His death, so that we can also be united to Him in His resurrection.  Our suffering can save us, and save those we love. 

            Last week we celebrated the memorial of St. Rose of Lima, the first saint of the Americas.  In the Office of Readings from the Liturgy of the Hours, St. Rose wrote, “Our Lord and Savior lifted up his voice and said…‘Let all men know that grace comes after tribulation…This is the only true stairway to paradise, and without the cross they can find no road to climb to heaven.’”  In this vision that St. Rose had, Jesus reaffirmed the words of today’s Gospel.  Now, this is not to say to Jesus enjoys watching us suffer, like some sadist.  But, it is only by dying to ourselves, and uniting that death with Jesus on the cross that we are able to share in the resurrection.  New life can only take place after death.  The new flower can only come after the seed dies.  The old saying, “offer it up!” was not just something the nuns said to keep children in line, or that parents said to stop the kids from whining.  It is a great truth that when we unite our small and large sufferings with Jesus on the cross, that suffering becomes not just a burden and meaningless, but something which can bring joy and peace to ourselves and to others.

            And the great news is that we do not suffer alone.  When we unite our suffering with Jesus, we also invite Jesus, and all the angels and saints, into our own passion, just as they were present at the Passion of Our Lord.  And we know how much easier suffering can be when we are united with others.  If a person gets hurt, it helps to have someone be with you until the injury can be dealt with.  If a person loses a job, it helps to have someone, not just to commiserate with, but to truly guide us through the trial.  And when we suffer and unite our sufferings with Jesus, we know that we are never alone.

            The challenge for us is to make that conscious choice to offer our sufferings with Jesus.  St. Paul tells us to “offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.”  What does this mean?  It means that, as we come to this Mass, we unite all those sufferings we have experienced in the past week with the host that is on the altar, which is the sacramental re-presentation of Jesus on the cross.  If we lost a sports game, we unite that pain to Jesus; if we got hurt or are going through a serious illness, we unite that suffering and frustration to Jesus; if we’re not doing well in school, or are nervous about a new school year, we unite that anxiety to Jesus; if we have lost our job and don’t know how we’re going to make ends meet, we unite that uncertainty to Jesus.  People say that things are bad right now: unemployment, wars, natural disasters, uncertainty, etc.  These are not good things.  But they can be great opportunities for deeper prayer, and real growth in grace by uniting ourselves to Jesus on the cross.  If we truly wish to be a disciple of Jesus, we must deny ourselves, take up our crosses, big and small, and follow Jesus.  “‘For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay all according to their conduct.’”

Truth Is

Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

            Our first reading and Gospel focus on keys: the keys of the house of David and the keys of the kingdom of heaven.  We’re no strangers to the power of keys.  Just imagine (or remember, depending on the person) the terror that enters a person’s heart when he or she suddenly realizes that the keys are locked in the house, or the car, or are lost somewhere.  Or think about the real pain that is caused when a parent tells the teen that the privilege of having keys to the car is gone as a punishment for some bad behavior, or, when the tables are turned, when a child has to tell their parents that they no longer have the privilege of the keys and that they can no longer drive out of a concern of safety for the parents and for others. 

But keys are not simply taken away.  When keys are given, it’s a great experience of freedom.  Think about the joy that you had, or that your kids have, when you first get the keys to the car after you’ve gone through driver’s ed.  Think about the joy that comes when you’ve gone through what seems like a mountain of paperwork and you are finally handed the keys to your new home.  Keys can be a very uplifting aspect of our lives, not just a negative one.

In the first reading, we do get a more negative sense of the keys, because they are being taken away from Shebna, the master of the palace.  Earlier in this same chapter, the Lord condemns Shebna with being more concerned with monuments to his glory than with God’s own people.  And so God speaks through Isaiah to say, “‘I will place the key of the House of David on Eliakim’s shoulder; when he opens, no one shall shut; when he shuts, no one shall open.’”  Eliakim becomes the new bearer of authority and power, because he has the keys to the House of David, the royal house.  Eliakim, and no longer Shebna, gets to decide who can enter the House of David, and who will remain outside.  He is the gatekeeper, now, to Shebna’s shame.  Shebna is like the young driver that just lost his driving privileges.

Statue of St. Peter near the
Sea of Galillee

In our Gospel, though, St. Peter is given the keys, which are not taken from another, but are given freely as a gift.  And this gift comes as a reward for the faith that Peter exhibits at this moment (although at others he doesn’t show such a great faith).  Jesus asks the disciples who others think He is.  It’s almost as if Jesus is posting, “Truth is…” to his disciples, except that Jesus wants to know what others think about Him, rather that posting what He thinks about others.  And when Peter, by the grace of God, is able to say the words, “‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,’” Jesus responds to those words with even more powerful words, words that ring the interior base of the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome: “‘You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.’” 

We lose the connection that existed in the original Aramaic that Jesus spoke, but which is still communicated in the Greek (in which the Gospel according to St. Matthew was first written) or even the Latin, which was copied by St. Jerome from the Greek.  In Latin we would hear, “Tu es Petrus et super hanc petram…”  We hear more clearly that our Lord, who gives Simon the new name of Peter, meaning a new identity that he has, just like Jacob was renamed Israel by God in the Old Testament, makes Peter the rock upon whom the Church is built.  Peter gains the special ministry to act not only in the person of Christ, but as Christ’s vicar on earth.  Peter is the Rock.  Petrus est petram. 

And while all the apostles, in the twentieth chapter of the Gospel of John, will receive the power to forgive sins through the words, “‘Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven,’” Jesus says to Peter alone, “I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.’”  This unique authority is given to St. Peter alone, and is part of the basis for the Catholic teaching on the unique role of the Pope as Head of the Apostolic College (the bishops united as one), just as Peter is the Prince of the Apostles. 

This power and authority, really a service to the unity of the disciples of Christ, continues today through the Petrine Ministry of the pope.  The Pope, as successor of St. Peter, continues to hold the keys, allowing him, either by himself, or as the head of the college of bishops, to guide all of us in knowing how the teachings of Christ apply to today’s situations, letting some things in, and keeping others out.  Some may not like that the pope, as successor of St. Peter, has the power of the keys, but they’re not our keys!  The keys belong to Christ, and He bestowed them on Peter; not because he was the bravest, or the wisest, or the holiest.  But, Jesus knew that Peter was the one to receive them according to the plan of God.  The great news is that, if we stick with St. Peter and his successor, then we’re sticking with the guy who has the keys into the house that Jesus promised he had prepared for us, just like when we are young, if we stick with our parents, we’ll always be able to get into our house.

Pope Benedict XVI at the Mass of the Rings

More often than not we hear people nay-saying the pope.  Someone always has some kind of complaint about this or that homily, this or that teaching, what he wears, how he celebrates Mass, etc., etc.  Today I want to be clear to you: I love the pope.  I thank God now for Pope Benedict XVI, just as I thanked God years ago for Pope Bl. John Paul II.  I thank God for the pope’s leadership, his teachings, and all that he has done to guide the Church to further holiness, while he himself strives to be a saint.  I hope that you, too, will join me in praying for our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, as he fulfills his Petrine Ministry, and show your love and support for him, especially when he is under baseless attacks from others that we know.  Is Pope Benedict perfect?  Certainly not.  Neither was St. Peter.  Pope Benedict is, however, striving for perfection just like you and me.  But he’s our pope who has been given a special mission by Jesus to guide the Church into greater holiness.  And, after all, he has the keys!

Where No Christian Man Has Gone Before

Vigil of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

            I sometimes hear from people that the Catholic Church is a “men only” club.  Sure women attend (and are often more faithful than their male counterparts!) but only men can be deacons, priests, and bishops, many of the major saints are men, etc., etc.  This solemnity stands in direct contradiction to that vision of the Church.  It is a denial of that point of view at its root.  No other Christian man in the history of the Church has received so great an honor as the one we celebrate tonight.  And what we celebrate is that Mary, at the end of her life, was assumed, body and soul, into heaven.  She is the only Christian person to receive that honor. 

Painting of the Assumption from the
Orthodox Church of the Dormition

            What makes the Blessed Mother worthy of this unique privilege?  Was it simply the fact that Mary carried Jesus in her womb and nursed him?  In our Gospel, Jesus takes the usual Jewish thought of blessing being connected with the generation of children, and modifies it so that the truly blessed ones are those “‘who hear the word of God and observe it.’”  And who has done this better than the Blessed Virgin Mary?  Mary heard the word of God through the Archangel Gabriel telling her that she would be the Mother of God.  But, while she wondered how this could happen, since she did not know man, she did not doubt the angel, but said with that great act of faith, “Let it be done to me according to your word.”  Because Christ is the Incarnate Word of God, every time Mary, along with St. Joseph, cared for Jesus: feeding him, teaching Him to walk, teaching Him to talk, and all the work of raising a child, she was being attentive to the Word of God in a way no other person could. 

            But the fact that Mary carried Jesus in her womb was also a special privilege that prepared her for the privilege of the Assumption.  In our first reading we heard about the preparation of the Ark of the Covenant made by David.  The Ark of God was the place where God dwelt with humanity in a special way, and so it was treated with great honor and joy.  At the moment of the Incarnation, when Jesus was conceived in the womb of the Blessed Mother by the power of the Holy Spirit, she became the new Ark of God, the Ark of the New and Everlasting Covenant because she carried within herself God Himself.  Because of this previous honor, she who carried within her he Whom the universe cannot contain, the Source of Life Himself, it was most fitting that she should not taste death, but be preserved from it by her Son who gained for her the blessing of the Resurrection, not only of the soul, but also of the body. 

            But there the other mysteries of Mary’s life are also connected to this great privilege.  On November 1, 1950, in the Papal Bull Munificentissimus Deus, the document which solemnly defined the Assumption as belonging to the Deposit of the Faith, and therefore which must be believed by all the faithful, Pope Pius XII recalled how all the mysteries of Mary’s life are connected to this celebration.  He cites the Byzantine Divine Liturgy which, when celebrating this day, states, “‘God, the King of the universe, has granted you favors that surpass nature.  As he kept you a virgin in childbirth, thus he has kept your body incorrupt in the tomb and has glorified it by his divine act of transferring it from the tomb.’”  The privilege of Mary’s Virginal Motherhood is connected to this day.  So, too, is Mary’s Immaculate Conception, that she was conceived in the womb of St. Anne, without the taint of original sin touching her soul.  Pope Pius XII writes, “[Mary], by an entirely unique privilege, completely overcame sin by her Immaculate Conception, and as a result she was not subject to the law of remaining in the corruption of the grave, and she did not have to wait until the end of time for the redemption of her body.”  Even Mary’s Immaculate Conception prepares her for this day that we celebrate, when she did not undergo corruption, but already enjoys the full joys of heaven, body and soul.

            There is no male human person who shares the same honors that we give to a woman, the Blessed Virgin Mary.  There is no male person celebrated as much as we celebrate Mary, not even St. Peter or St. Paul.  Because of her Immaculate Conception, Virginal Motherhood, unique care for and adherence to Jesus as a perfect disciple, and her Assumption, no other human person can claim such honors.  We are a Church who celebrates only one human person who on earth lived perfectly, and that human person is a woman.  Mary is the glory of Jerusalem.  Mary is the fairest honor of our race.

            While women have often been the most faithful members of the Church, by the will of God only men can become deacons, priests, and bishops and share in the ordained ministry of Jesus Christ.  But, this is certainly not because men are better than women, smarter than women, or holier than women.  This celebration of the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary reminds all of us, men and women, that our salvation was made possible by a woman, and that the holiest human person we have is a woman.  But she is for all of us, men and women, an example to strive to follow in her obedience and love of Christ, so that one day, after our deaths and the resurrection of our bodies, we, too might be able to share in the joys of heaven, body and soul, and Mary currently does.  

Catholic Diversity

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

            If there is one value that modern-Americans hold dear, I think the virtue would certainly be diversity.  We don’t want to be the same.  We want variety.  After all, it’s the spice of life!  We want everyone to feel welcome.  In fact, we take diversity to an extreme by mandating that no one can say another person is wrong, or that his or her choices are bad.  Otherwise we lose diversity.  In some countries, like Canada, even simply calling certain actions and lifestyles bad can get one thrown in jail for “hate-speech,” and can get one branded as a bigot.

            So today’s readings probably seem strange to us.  Why all this attention on foreigners?  What’s the big deal?  Doesn’t God love everyone, no matter what?  Why does Isaiah make such a big deal about the Gentiles, that is, any non-Jew, ministering to the Lord, loving His Name, and becoming His servant?  Why does St. Paul say that he ministers to the Gentiles “in order to make my race jealous and thus save some of them”?  Why is Jesus so mean to the woman who simply wants her daughter freed from the torment of a demon?  Why this talk of, “‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel’”? 

            We have to remember that God didn’t call every nation to Himself at first.  He chose Israel, the Jews, as a nation “peculiarly his own” as Deuteronomy says, with the word that is so hard to pronounce.  Deuteronomy continues that it was not because the Jews were the largest, or the wisest, or the fiercest nation on earth that they were chosen.  Rather, it was because they were the smallest, the weakest nation on earth that God chose them.  Why?  Why choose the smallest to begin salvation history?  Why not choose other nations at the same time?  To be honest, we don’t know.  That is only known in the mind of God.  It is the mystery of divine election.  All we can do is have faith in a loving and omniscient God and know that His choice is always for the best.  And it doesn’t simply have to do with salvation.  Why did God allow you married couples to marry each other?  Why not someone else?  Why did God give you the children that He did, with all their gifts and talents and their shortcomings?  We don’t know.  We simply worship the God who is Love and pure Wisdom itself.

            But getting back to salvation, God reveals through Isaiah and St. Paul and Jesus that even though He chose a particular nation as His own, that nation was called to invite others into the special relationship with God, the covenant.  The Jews were not supposed to be elitists.  They were supposed to bring the blessings of a right relationship with God to the other nations so that they might be joined to this nation that God chose and also receive His blessings.  But the Jews, time and time again, did not even value their special relationship with God, and rather than inviting the other nations into their relationship with God, chose to turn to pagan gods, no-gods really, and make themselves one with the other nations.  And so, as St. Paul says, because of the disobedience of the Jews, the Gentiles are able to be grafted onto the tree of Israel through Jesus, who made the two one, and share in the joys of a right relationship with God, receiving the same mercy that God first showed to Israel. 

Jesus does this with the Canaanite woman.  He tests her faith to see if she has the faith which Israel is supposed to have.  We may not like the words, but those words, spoken from God Himself, are the exact words which allow the woman to say that “‘even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.’”  Even Gentiles should be receiving the overflow of love that God has poured upon Israel.  And, based upon her faith, the requirement of every action of God in a person’s life, including our own, the woman’s daughter is freed from possession.

We as a nation, “enlightened” as we are, celebrate diversity.  For too many it is the good upon which all other goods are based.  This is the extreme, and extreme which is not virtuous but actually vicious.  When we condemn those who speak out against people doing evil deeds because that’s just the way they are; we need their variety in order to be truly diverse, we pervert the idea of proper diversity, which only welcomes all that is good.  We welcome every person, but not everything that person might do.

On the other hand, we go the other extreme when we feel like it and try to judge when we have “enough” diversity.  Recently, Bishop Boyea joined with the other bishops of Michigan in  support of immigrants and undocumented persons.  While recognizing the legitimacy of a nation to protect its borders and keep out those who seek to do it harm, the reality of the situation is that there are thousands of people who have never known anything else but life in the United States, even though they or their parents may have arrived here illegally.  Most of these people are not drug dealers or criminals, but very helpful members of society who pay taxes and often take jobs than many other natural-born Americans choose not to take: the dirty jobs, if you will.  And yet there is a real push to deport all those who entered the country illegally to be deported, even if that means that it separates a family, or causes American citizens who are children to be sent back to their parents’ mother countries.  The bishops and I are not saying that we have all the answers.  But we do have to ensure that whatever our actions at a national and State level, they respect the dignity of the human person, the right of a family to be united, and the proper diversity that immigrants bring to our nation.  Any serious student of the history of the Catholic Church in American recognizes that we are a community of immigrants, some who came legally, others who came illegally, and who were not welcome on these shores by many of the Americans who came before us.  We were not the kind of “diversity” that the Americans of that day wanted. 

God’s love is poured upon His Chosen People, both Israel of old, and the new Israel, the Church, who has been grafted on to the olive tree of God.  But that love is meant to be poured out upon others so that they, too, will experience the joy, the love, the warmth of a right relationship to God through the Body of Christ, the Church.  Let us truly be Catholics, not just in name but in deed, so that, while not welcoming any action or deed that is morally wrong, we welcome every person to join with us in the properly diverse, that is, catholic, Church that is our family. 

The Sound (and Power!) of Silence

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

            “How does God speak to you?”  It’s a question I get asked a lot, especially when talking about my discernment to become a priest.  “How did you know, Father, that God was calling you to be a priest?  Did you hear a voice?”  We want to know how God communicates to us, to see if He is communicating with us.

            We have three paradigms for divine communication in today’s readings.  I usually work towards the Gospel in preaching, but this time I’m going to go from the Gospel to the first reading.  And each reading contains ways that God communicates to us.

            In our Gospel, Jesus speaks to the disciples in the boat, as I am speaking to you.  But whereas many of us probably think that if God were to speak to us, we would clearly understand what He was saying and do whatever He asked, this isn’t true with the disciples.  They have been with Jesus for some time, hearing Him preach, watching Him heal the sick and possessed.  And yet, when Jesus appears, walking on the sea, they figure that it’s a ghost.  They do not recognize Jesus.  Peter, to ascertain Jesus’ identity, asks Jesus to command Peter to walk on water.  And when St. Peter does, but then falters, it is Jesus who picks him up and helps him back into the boat.  In this way, we see two ways that Jesus speaks to us: in the first way, He speaks to us in the same way that I am speaking with you now, so that we can hear His voice.  But what is surprising is that, just like the disciples, we don’t always recognize the voice of Jesus even when it’s a voice.  Secondly, Jesus speaks through His care for the disciples.  When Jesus rescues Peter from drowning, He is communicating through His actions that He will never allow Peter to sink amidst the crashing waves.  We see in this the foreshadowing of Jesus’ protection of His Church, sometimes referred to as the Barque or Boat of Peter, which is not allowed to sink in the storms of world events.

            The second paradigm is in St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans.  St. Paul says, “I speak the truth in Christ, I do not lie.”  God speaks to us through His apostles, those whom Jesus called and sent out to build up and oversee the Church.  The bishops, as successors to the apostles, when speaking on matters of faith or morals speak “the truth in Christ.”  To them is given the charism, when they are united to the Pope, to teach what belongs to the faith infallibly.  Just as St. Paul says elsewhere, “It is not longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me,” the bishops are given the grace to teach, not by their own authority, but with the authority of Christ on matters of faith and morals.  If we want to hear God speaking about what we must believe, and how we must live to as to be faithful to Christ, we can look to the bishops, the successors of the apostles, to hear the voice of God.

            The last paradigm from our readings comes from the first reading, and is a very powerful way that God communicates.  We hear the inspired author tell us that Elijah, the greatest prophet in all the Old Testament, did not hear God in the heavy winds, nor the earthquake, nor the fire.  No, Elijah heard the voice of God in the whisper heard in the silence.  This voice was so powerful, that Elijah, who had called down fire from the heavens to consume the oblation, offered to the true God to shame the prophets of Baal, had to hide his face because He heard God in the silence.

            Silence is a very powerful expression of God’s voice.  It is in silence that the great things of God happen.  When God created the universe, He did so in silence.  In the silence of meditation, according to most artistic renditions, Mary heard the Archangel Gabriel tell her that God had called her to be the Mother of the Son of God.  And in the silence of the night, the Word-Made-Flesh came to be known by us as He was born in Bethlehem.  In fact, in the extraordinary form of the Mass, what some call the Tridentine Mass, part of the Liturgy includes a prophecy from the Book of Wisdom about the Incarnation.  Romano Guardini quotes it in The Lord, his meditation on the life of Christ: “‘For while all things were in quiet silence and the night was in the midst of her course, thy almighty word leapt down from heaven from thy royal throne.’”  Likewise, the Resurrection happens in the silence of the early morning, when the guards are asleep and no one expects Christ to rise from the dead.

            In our days, however, we manage to cut out as much silence as possible.  Are we afraid of being alone with God?  Are we afraid of what God would say?  The answer is probably as diverse as the number of people here.  I bet that if I remained silent for a long period of time during the Mass, we would try to find ways to break the silence: thumbing through hymnal pages, reading the bulletin, looking around to others.  But we need silence.  My practice is to always give up the radio and music during Lent so as to allow more time for God to speak to me in His power.  But we don’t just need silence in Lent.  We need it all throughout the year. 

            We’re taught in seminary that every homily (at least the good ones) should have a practical way to apply the readings to life.  Today we’ll apply this teaching by taking some extended time of silence, first after my homily, and then after the reception of Holy Communion.  Listen to God during this time.  Don’t just make it a time of doing nothing, but make it a time of active listening to the whisper of God, heard only in the silence.

Judah Ben-Hur and the Eucharist

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

            When I first looked over the first reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, one of the first images that popped into my head was a scene from “Ben Hur,” the classic movie starring Charlton Heston.  The movie’s quite long, so if you’re going to download it or rent it be prepared for a whole afternoon or late night spent watching it.  It is, however, worth it.  What many do not realize is that the movie is subtitled: “A Story of the Christ.” 

            The particular scene that comes to mind is when, circa AD 30, Judah Ben-Hur, the main character, is in chains, being led through the Judean desert as a traitor to Rome.  The prisoners stop for a moment so that the Roman soldiers and horses can get water.  But no water is offered to the prisoners, and anyone who tries to offer them water is pushed away by the Roman soldiers.  But then, one man, with a kind of light emanating from Him, approaches Judah and gives him a cup of water.  Judah drinks the water gratefully, and is entranced as he looks upon this man who gave him the cool, refreshing water.  Even the Romans are stopped as they look upon the face (which we never see) of the Jew who dared to defy them.  The unseen face, of course, belongs to Jesus.

            Jesus tells us, through the prophet Isaiah, that if we are thirsty, all we need do is come to the water, and He will refresh us.  We see in this passage an allusion to the waters of baptism, the waters which quench our souls of the thirst that every human being has for God.  During these hot, summer days, how refreshing it is to jump into a cold lake or pool, or to take a cool shower after working hard in our hot and humid days.  Even more so, then, does baptism cool us from all of our passions which, if not ordered correctly, can lead us to a place which makes a hot, humid summer day in Michigan feel as cool as an air-conditioned office. 

Mosaic of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish
at the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves
in the Holy Land.
You'll notice that there are only 4 loaves.
The 5th is the "loaf" on the altar which becomes the
Body of Christ

            But we also see that our God, our loving God, is not some disinterested, disconnected deity.  He is not the god of the Enlightenment, who simply set a whole chain of events in motion and then watches from afar, not concerned with our daily needs.  No, we see in the words of the prophet, and especially in our Gospel, that Jesus cares about our daily, earthly needs as well.  He knows that in order to help us understand the spiritual reality, we need to also have our earthly realities addressed.  And so, after the people heard the teachings of Jesus, the Word of God, they were hungry.  As a sign, a quasi-sacrament, we might say, of His love for us, Jesus multiplies 5 loaves of bread and two fish, and miraculously makes them enough to feed 5,000 men, and likely as many, if not more, women and children.  God doesn’t just tell us how much He loves us.  He shows us, in Jesus, by giving us food for the soul (the truth, which is really Jesus Himself) and food for the body.

            Do we not ask, each Sunday, and hopefully each day, in the Lord’s Prayer that we receive our daily bread?  We ask God to be with us in our earthly needs, whether they be food and drink, employment, shelter, health, or whatever else we may need, and He generously responds, either through a miracle, like in today’s Gospel, or through His Mystical Body, the Church, of which we are a part. 

            And yet, even as we know that God is concerned with what’s happening in our day-to-day life, He does not stop there.  Just as the words of the Prophet Isaiah remind us of baptism, the water that truly refreshes us, so the multiplication of the loaves is supposed to prepare and remind us about the Eucharist, the sacred bread which does not become part of us, but makes us a part of Him whose Body it is.  In giving us the multiplication of the loaves, Jesus leads us to the Eucharist, the bread come down from heaven which satisfies the hunger of the soul for the God who made it.  Even the words of the Lord’s Prayer in Scripture, “give us this day our daily bread,” when read in the Latin or Greek, refer to a super-substantial bread, a bread which is above the usual substance of wheat which has been crushed and then baked, because it is no longer bread, but really the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, which fully satisfies us, just as the 5,000 men, and the other women and children ate of the loaves and fish and were satisfied.

            What great love God has for us, that He cares for us enough to satisfy our needs.  He comes down to us in our hunger and thirst and feeds us and gives us water to quench our thirst.  If we were fully convinced of this love, then following Jesus, trusting in Jesus, and loving Jesus in return would not be something which we would consider not doing, because we would know that separating ourselves from that love would be as foolish as separating ourselves from the food and drink that nourishes our body, for the love of God is the true nourishment of our souls.  

            As we approach the Eucharist, the true bread come down from heaven which gives life to those who receive it worthily, let us know in our heads and in our hearts that this is the love of God made manifest to us in a tangible way.  The Eucharist is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.  Happy are those who are called to the banquet of the Lamb.  

Hiatus

Summer School


For the first time in my life, I will be attending summer school.  This, however, will not be for remedial work, but to begin pursuing a Master's Degree in Liturgy from the Liturgical Institute in Mundelein, Illinois.  During this time I will not be preparing weekend homilies (as far as I know), and so my postings will be non-existant until such time as I am back at St. Thomas parish/St. John Student Center in late July/early August.  God bless you during these summer days!

Fr. Anthony

Endings and Beginnings

Ascension of the Lord

            The way that something ends can be very important.  In what little free time I have, I enjoy reading Grisham novels.  But, to be honest, it’s a love-hate relationship.  I love reading the books, until I get to the end because, in my opinion, the man doesn’t know how to end a book.  It’s always so abrupt and dissatisfying.

Or, we could look at our high school students who have graduated, or any high school students who have been or will be taking exams.  While the rest of the semester is important, finals week either caps a successful semester, maybe saves someone from having to retake a class with a last-minute display of real knowledge, or puts the nail in the coffin to a horrible class.

Rock from which Jesus ascended into heaven
(Jerusalem)

            What we celebrate today is the is the completion of the Paschal Mystery.  This main Mystery of our Faith, what makes us unique as Christians, began Holy Thursday, as we celebrated the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, continued on Good Friday as we solemnly recalled Jesus’ death on the cross, and then continued on further as we celebrated the rising of Christ from the dead.  But our celebration of that Mystery did not end on Easter Sunday, or even after the Octave of Easter.  No, today’s solemnity, that of the Ascension, when Christ, 40 days after He rose from the dead, ascended into heaven (even though we celebrate it a few days later) is also part of this Mystery.  And this part reminds us that, after our resurrection from the dead, after we have been judged, if we are found faithful to God, we can expect our glorified bodies to rise from their tombs and be reunited with our souls in heaven.  Where Christ has gone, we, too, hope to go someday.

            That is why today is such a great celebration.  Not only have sin and death been conquered by Christ’s dying on the cross and rising to new life; not only do we get to have eternal life after death; but our human nature has been taken up into heaven and, united with Jesus’ divine nature, sits at the right hand of the Father, “far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion,” as St. Paul says in our second reading.  Human nature has been taken up into the heavens where it enjoys the fullness of the reign of God, and by our faithful stewardship of the gifts that God has given to us: the most precious gift of faith, hope, and love and the gifts of time, talent, and treasure, we can share in that reign.

            But, while this day marks the completion of the Paschal Mystery, it also marks a new beginning, as all endings do.  When we finish elementary school we begin middle school; when we finish middle school we begin high school; when we finish high school we begin college or a job; when we end single life we begin married life, ordained ministry, or consecrated life; when we end this life on earth, we begin a new life, hopefully in heaven.  So when Christ completes His Paschal Mystery, it begins a new part of the work of Christ, the work of the rest of His Body, the Church.

            Because as Jesus was about to ascend into the heavens, He commands them, “‘Go…and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.’”  As Jesus’ physical presence in His glorified body ends here on earth, His work continues through the members of His Body, the Church, through all generations.  He gives us the mandate to preach the Gospel and bring people under the obedience of Christ, obeying all His commands.

            We generally don’t think of Christ as commanding, but as we look through the Gospels, we see a few that come up again and again: “‘Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!’”; “‘Sin no more’”; “‘Love one another’”; and today we hear, “‘make disciples of all nations.’”  This is the work that Jesus Christ expects us to do while we are on earth.  This is part of the work that His Body continues, part of His ministry to all people. 

            The temptation, of course, is to be like the disciples at the ascension, and not really get this mandate.  They keep looking up, even after Jesus was taken from their sight, and so God sends to angels to say, “‘Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky?’”  They wonder why the disciples are not returning to the upper room to pray for the Holy Spirit so that they can be Jesus’ messengers themselves.  While we may not look up in the sky, we might be tempted to think, ‘Wow!  That was a great homily!  What a powerful Mass.  I never realized that Christ has commanded me to preach the Gospel!’ and then leave our practice of the faith in this building, just like the disciples standing on the mountain.  But Jesus doesn’t tell us to bask in the glow of the Spirit while we’re in Church for an hour, and then return our faith to the bookracks before we exit the building.  He gives us the mandate to take that faith out into the world and use it in our interactions with family, friends, co-workers, and all those we meet, bearing witness in word and deed to the joy and the hope we have in Christ.

            It is good to realize how important this completion of the Paschal Mystery is, and to rejoice in the fact that our natures, and even our bodies, one day, can be united with God in heaven.  But this completion leads us to a new beginning, the beginning of our ministry in the Holy Name of Jesus as we make disciples of all nations and lead then to the saving waters of Baptism.  

We Have (the Holy) Spirit, Yes We Do!!

Sixth Sunday of Easter

            “Be sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit.”  These are the words that Fr. Mark said to the 28 people who were confirmed at the Easter Vigil just a few weeks ago.  They are the words that our 8^th and 9^th grade students will hear next school year when Bishop Boyea confirms them.  These are the words that call down the Holy Spirit upon the baptized, just as Sts. Peter and John gave the Holy Spirit to those who had accepted the Word of God in Samaria, after they had been baptized.

            Does this gift of the Holy Spirit change those who receive it?  Does the Holy Spirit matter?  Of course!  By the anointing with the Sacred Chrism and the laying on of hands, those who have been confirmed are united to the Blessed Trinity in a new way!  They are little christs, little anointed ones, just as Christ, the anointed one, was filled with the Spirit.

            Sadly, we can block the many graces that the Spirit wants to give to us, the seven-fold gift of: wisdom, understanding, reverence, knowledge, counsel, right judgment, and wonder and awe in the presence of God.  We can say no to these gifts.  We can say no to the courage, the excitement, the joy that are the gifts that should be poured upon us when we are baptized and confirmed. 

            How often do I see those gifts going unused, like birds that long to fly but are locked in a cage that gives them no room.  How often do I see people come to Sunday Mass as if they are going to a funeral!  How often do I see people coming forward to receive the Eucharist, the Body and Blood of our Lord, Jesus the Christ, the Anointed One, without joy on their faces!  It’s not that we always have to feel happy or have a smile on our face.  That will only happen if we are welcomed into heaven.  But, we can always be joyful that we are able to participate in the anticipation of the Wedding Feast of the Lamb of God, the Antechamber of Heaven.  That’s what we get the opportunity to celebrate each week.  And if we are truly celebrating, then we are not dour, but delighted.  Imagine how much fun the Open Houses that we attend would be if everyone acted their like they do at Mass!  Not much at all! 

            The Holy Spirit gives us life, gives us breath.  It is like the vision of the dry bones from the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel.  Even though the bones are put back together, and the sinews and muscles are all on the bones, they bodies need the Spirit of God breathed into them in order to live.  We need that same Spirit or else we are nothing but a collection of bones, muscle, and organs walking around like zombies.  We need that Spirit!

            We need the Spirit to be able to give an explanation “to anyone who asks…for a reason for [our] hope,” as St. Peter says in our second reading.  The same Spirit that allowed the Apostles, Blessed Mother, and disciples gathered in the upper room at the first Pentecost, to proclaim the Gospel, the Good News, to the Jews gathered in Jerusalem; the same Spirit that sent Philip down to Samaria to preach and baptize those who were willing to accept the Word of God; that same Spirit dwells within us and wants to renew the face of the earth by our testimony and witness to the Gospel of Christ.  It is like the fizz in a shaken pop bottle that is just waiting for the tiniest opening to explode out of us. 

But we have become good at keeping the lid on.  We have become good at quelling the Spirit so that we don’t have to give an explanation for our faith.  We can be like adolescents in the faith.  We don’t know much and we’re afraid of sharing what we have for fear that we are different, that we upset the apple cart.  We may not have joy, but at least we’re comfortable where we’re at, and we don’t want to challenge anyone else, let alone ourselves.  Just like adolescents we don’t want to be different.  We want to the same as everyone else.  But that’s not what the Spirit calls us to.  As St. Paul says in his letter to the Romans, “Do not conform yourselves to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.”  Do not be the same as the world, because if we are, then we do not have the Spirit of God, since, as Jesus says in today’s Gospel, the Advocate, the one who stands up to defend us and gives us words to speak as we proclaim the Good News, that Spirit the world cannot accept, “because it neither sees or knows him.” 

“For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love.”  If we have the Spirit, we have power.  Not power which dominates, but power that serves by proclaiming the freeing love and redemption that is ours in Christ Jesus.  To show that we have the Holy Spirit do we all have to quit our jobs and go off to Pacific Islands, Saudi Arabia, or unknown jungles in South America to preach conversion?  No, we have plenty of opportunities right here in East Lansing, Okemos, and the entire greater-Lansing area.  There are people who do not know Jesus and who need to.  There are people who know Jesus and have been baptized, but who have not yet received the full inheritance of the Spirit that is their right as children of God in confirmation.  The more we are willing to bring Christ to our work place and even in our own homes (where, sadly, I fear He is sometimes absent!!), the more will we transform this world to be more like the Kingdom of God that Christ instituted by His own presence here on earth. 

The more we pray on a daily basis for the gift to recognize the times when the Spirit is calling us to bring Jesus into a particular conversation or situation; the more we are proud to be Catholics and bring that into the public sector, rather than being ashamed of having different rules and different views that so many others; the more we open ourselves up to the Spirit rather than blocking Him by our fear and our sins, the more we will have that enduring joy and peace that Christ promises to us. 

And so, as we prepare for Pentecost over the next two weeks, may our prayer be an invitation to the Holy Spirit to make His dwelling in us, fill us with His power, and help us to be alive with Him rather than just dry bones rattling along in life. 

Come, Holy Spirit,

Fill the hearts of your faithful

and enkindle in them the fire of your love.

Send forth your Spirit

and they shall be created

and you shall renew the face of the earth.  

Amen.

"VENI SANCTE SPIRITUS REPLE TUORUM CORDA FIDELIUM
COME HOLY SPIRIT FILL THE HEARTS OF YOUR FAITHFUL"
From Monte Cassino Benedictine Abbey, Italy

Cornerstone

Fifth Sunday of Easter

            This past week, and especially Friday night and Saturday evening I was asked a question by a number of parishioners: “Father, is the world going to end?”  And, while we know by faith that one day, God will create a new heaven and a new earth, we also know that this will be the consummation of God’s love for humanity, welcoming into heaven those who have lived as his faithful disciples.  But, about when it will happen, even Jesus, while He was on earth, said we do not know the day nor the hour.  Still, he also tells us in today’s Gospel, “‘Do not let your hearts be troubled.’”  And really, if we are living as disciples of Jesus, then we have nothing to fear.  The only reason to fear the end times is if we are not being good disciples, and if Jesus is not the center, or you might say the cornerstone, of our lives. 

            “‘Behold, I am laying a stone in Zion, a cornerstone, chosen and precious.’”  “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.’”  “‘Like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house.’”  These quotes all come from our second reading today, and focus on minds on construction.  St. Peter tells us that we are in the midst of a great construction effort: the building up of the house of God, with Jesus Christ Himself as the cornerstone.  We are being put together into one large building: the household, the temple of God.

            As we build up our own house, our very selves, we are also contributing to the larger complex, almost as if the overall goal is a condominium complex, made up of many smaller houses.

            What matters most for us and for the complex as a whole is the foundation.  Without a good, strong foundation, the rest of the house, and indeed, the complex, is in danger of collapsing or nothing protecting us from the tornados of life.  What is the base of who we are?  It’s easy to say Christ, because we know that’s supposed to be the right answer.  Besides, when asked a religious question, we have this tendency to think that Jesus is always the right answer.  But, if we’re honest, we may have to pause to take some time and think about it.  If you’re a type A personality like me, too often the temptation is for my plans to be the foundation of my life.  Sure, we can say that Jesus is the cornerstone of my life, but in the day-to-day experiences of life, to whom do I turn more for giving me a solid base?  My plans or God’s plans?  Likely, all of us struggle with this a little.  Or perhaps our struggle is with money being the foundation, or prestige, or power.  Whatever our temptation, there are other stones, better looking stones, that want to be established as the foundation to our house.  But, to have a house which can stand the test, not only of time but also of eternity, Jesus, the stone rejected by the builders, must become our cornerstone.

            Another important fact is to realize that our house is two stories: the basement or earthly floor and the heavenly or first floor.  The foundation that we lay here on earth greatly impacts how the first floor turns out.  Jesus tells us that in His Father’s house there are many dwelling places.  He goes to prepare a place for us.  But, we cooperate in building that level, too.  Jesus has the plan for us of how to construct it, but we have to follow those plans.  Otherwise, we build the basement floor on earth, and, if we get that wrong, we don’t build up towards the heavens, but rather down towards eternal perdition. 

            By our actions while we are building this level of the house, we establish a good foundation upon which a nice, stable first floor can be built, or we weaken the foundation and end up building down.  By every good deed we do in response to God’s grace, we cooperate with the Master Builder to prepare our place in heaven.  But, by every sin that we commit contrary to God’s grace and will, we undermine the very end for which we are striving. 

            Sometimes the construction of our own spiritual house happens quickly.  Reading this Gospel in preparation for the homily, my mind went to the funeral of our own parishioner, Alex Powell, a young man whom we commended to the Lord on May 12^th.  What a short time the Lord gave him for construction.  And yet, the more stories I heard about his own life and response in faith, especially during extreme pain and suffering, the more I came to know about a strong foundation that had been laid in preparation for the first floor.  Sometimes the construction takes longer, not for any lack of virtue, but simply according to the mind of God.  My mind also went to Dave Gagnier, who greatly assisted this Student Center, especially with the Liturgy, during his life.  In either case, what is important is not so much the time it takes, but how strong that foundation is in Christ.

            If Christ, the stone rejected by the builders, the chosen and precious stone, is our foundation for our lives, then we rest secure in the strength of the base of our spiritual homes.  If not, then as long as we have breath we have a chance to strengthen that foundation so that, at the end of our lives our hearts will not be troubled because we will be prepared to allow God to build up for us that first floor heavenly dwelling place.  If Christ is the foundation of our lives then we will look forward to hearing, “‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father.  Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’”