People’s Opinions

Finding our peace and confidence in what God thinks of us

03/28/2018

Matthew 26:14-25 One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, "What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?" They paid him thirty pieces of silver, and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over. When it was evening, he reclined at table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, he said, "Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me." Deeply distressed at this, they began to say to him one after another, "Surely it is not I, Lord?" He said in reply, "He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me. The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born." Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply, "Surely it is not I, Rabbi?" He answered, "You have said so."

Today I want to teach you a little trick to lead a more tranquil and untroubled life. Nothing causes us more anxiety, heartburn and lost sleep than worrying about what other people say and do. Someone in the seminary taught me how to overcome that worry. My first day at Mt. St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland, I ran into a fellow who had started his fourth and final year of seminary school. We met in the hallway for a moment, and trying to make a little small talk, I said, “So, I hear this is a really great seminary.” He stared at me steadily for a second, and replied cryptically: “You know, that statement tells me a lot more about you than it does this seminary.” I kind of half-laughed thinking he was joking, and walked off. I thought to myself, “Weirdo!”

But I’ve often thought about his simple statement many times; our opinions only reveal what we think, not what the world is really like. Now, for instance, if someone says to me: “Fr. John, you are the greatest priest in the world!” I smile and think to myself: “That statement tells me a lot more about your than what kind of priest I am.” And I don’t get a big head. On the other hand, if someone complains: “Fr. John, you are the worst priest in the world!” I smile again because they have only told me something about them and nothing about me, and I don’t start crying over it. When Coach Meares praises the North Carolina Tar Heels as the greatest basketball team in college history, does that mean they really are? Or, does it mean Coach Meares has poor taste in basketball teams? But notice what I just did with that last statement suggesting he has poor taste: I said more about me than about him. If you want to lead a more tranquil and untroubled life learn this little trick about people’s opinions

Jesus employs this trick in the gospel today, and he is able to keep his peace of mind when he’s about to be betrayed. Judas agrees to sell Jesus to the Jewish authorities for thirty pieces of silver (equivalent today to about $200). But was that really the value of Jesus’ life? Not at all; Jesus life is priceless. In reality, it was the value of Judas’ soul.  Judas wasn’t selling Jesus for thirty pieces of silver, he was selling his own soul by betraying our Lord. Thirty pieces of silver was the price for Judas, not for Jesus. What we say or do says a lot more about us than it does the reality around us: that thirty pieces of silver said more about Judas than Jesus. At the Last Supper, Jesus says one of his apostles would betray him. Judas incredulously asks: “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” And Jesus replies (like my friend in the seminary): “You have said so.” In other words, your answer says more about you than you think. Jesus did not let what others said or did – not even what Judas said or did – bother him. His peace came from knowing God loved him.

Boys and girls, do other people’s comments or behavior cause you grief, heartburn or to lose sleep? Sometimes someone’s snarky comment on social media makes you feel angry and want to take revenge, so you post some equally mean comment back. But did you really say something about them, or did you really say something about yourself? I hear where you sit at lunch can cause some anxiety: whether you sit with a certain group or not. What others do, even where people sit at lunch, says more about them than about you. I hear some people say, “Trinity Junior High is a rich kids’ school!” And sometimes I hear people say: “Trinity Junior High is a poor kids’ school!” I just smile because their comments don’t say anything about Trinity, but only reveal their own opinions, which are often wide of the mark.

If we take what other people say or do too seriously, we feel we are on a roller-coaster ride: we feel great one minute because someone said something nice about us, and we grow angry or depressed the next minute because someone said something mean about us. Roller-coasters are fun for a few minutes, but that’s not a happy way to live your whole life. May I suggest you get off the roller-coaster of people’s opinions and stand on the solid ground of God’s love? Try to remember what my friend said to me in the seminary: Your opinion only says something about you, and nothing about me. And you will lead a more tranquil and untroubled life.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Morbid Curiosity

Letting Jesus be the master of life and death

03/26/2018

John 12:1-11 Six days before Passover Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. They gave a dinner for him there, and Martha served, while Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with him.  Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil made from genuine aromatic nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair; the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. Then Judas the Iscariot, one of his disciples, and the one who would betray him, said, "Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days' wages and given to the poor?" He said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief and held the money bag and used to steal the contributions. So Jesus said, "Leave her alone. Let her keep this for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me." The large crowd of the Jews found out that he was there and came, not only because of him, but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. And the chief priests plotted to kill Lazarus too, because many of the Jews were turning away and believing in Jesus because of him.

I would argue one of the most fascinating figures in the New Testament has to be Lazarus of Bethany. First let me say three things about his extraordinary life and death, and then draw a couple of practical conclusions for us today.

First of all, Lazarus was not the only dead person Jesus brought back to life (there were two others), but he was the “most dead person.” The first miraculous healing was Jairus’ twelve year-old daughter who had just died (Luke 8:40-56). She was still in her bedroom, on her deathbed, where she had expired. Another instance was when Jesus was entering the town of Nain in Luke 7:11-17. This young man had been dead a little longer because they were carrying him out for burial. And by contrast, Lazarus has been dead for four days, he was wrapped in burial cloths, and his sister, Martha, observes alarmed there will be a stench if Jesus raises him from the dead. (Sisters always worry about how their brothers smell). A skeptic might argue that in the first two cases the individuals might not have been completely dead – maybe in a coma – but that was impossible to suggest with Lazarus. He was definitely dead.

Secondly, where did Lazarus’ soul go for four days? I do not think it is possible he went to heaven. Why? Jesus had not risen from the dead and his resurrection was the key that unlocked the gates of paradise. Lazarus, therefore, could only go to one of two places after death: either Sheol (the abode of the dead, what we would call purgatory), or to Hades, which is hell properly-speaking. All the Old Testament greats – Abraham, Moses, David, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Deborah, Ruth, etc. – remained in Sheol waiting for Jesus to open the doors of heaven, like we wait for Ed to open the church doors every morning. Most likely, therefore, Sheol-purgatory was were Lazarus spent those four days.

And thirdly, and this may explain why Jesus did not raise more people from the grave, each of these three people would have to die again. The exact moment of death is a mystery because it is when the soul separates from the body and no one knows that precise moment. It is a spiritual event. Modern medical science can study the symptoms of death – loss of brain function, ceasing of heart beat, etc. – but science cannot tell you when someone dies; it can only approximate that spiritual event. But Lazarus, Jairus’ daughter, and the widow of Nain’s son all had to endure that spiritual event called death twice (not just once), and I do not think it was very enjoyable. Maybe that is why Jesus does not raise people from the dead more frequently in the gospels: he knows what they must endure.

My friends, modern Americans suffer from a morbid curiosity about death these days that I am not sure is a very Christian curiosity. We are fascinated with death; maybe bordering on obsession. Could this by why we have so many movies about zombies and popular television shows like “The Walking Dead”? Bookstore shelves are lined with stories of near-death experiences and what people saw after dying. The rising popularity of euthanasia – so-called mercy killing – is a desire to become master of the moment of death. We will leave this world on our terms, when we decide, and make the Grim Reaper make an appointment on our calendar. But I do not believe any of these attitudes offer us a very faith-filled outlook on our final exit from this life to the next.

Rather, I suggest we look to Lazarus for an example of faith and trust in God’s love over our life and our death. We are not the master of our own life. We did not get to choose how and when we entered this world (when our soul infused our body) and we should not demand authority to choose how and when we will leave this world (when our soul leaves our body). We cannot utter the final word about our own life and death, only Jesus can. And in the case of Jairus’ daughter, the widow of Nain’s son and his close friend, Lazarus of Bethany, Jesus may say with a shudder, “You must die twice.” The shortest sentence in the Scripture is John 11:35, where we read “Jesus wept” before raising Lazarus from the dead. Maybe that is why he wept.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Cat and Mouse

Playing hide and seek with everyone except God

03/24/2018

John 11:45-56  So the chief priests and the Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, "What are we going to do?  This man is performing many signs. If we leave him alone, all will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our land and our nation." But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing, nor do you consider that it is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish." He did not say this on his own, but since he was high priest for that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not only for the nation, but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God. So from that day on they planned to kill him. So Jesus no longer walked about in public among the Jews, but he left for the region near the desert, to a town called Ephraim, and there he remained with his disciples. Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before Passover to purify themselves. They looked for Jesus and said to one another as they were in the temple area, "What do you think? That he will not come to the feast?"

All small children love to play the game called “cat and mouse.” One person tries to hide and the other person tries to find and catch them. In fact, last Sunday I played cat and mouse with 2-year-old Reed Dubina (Preston Dubina’s son). I would hide behind Preston and Reed would run around his father and try to spot me and catch me. What makes this game so easy and fun is that children think that if they cannot see you, you have somehow magically disappeared. “Out of sight, out of mind.” Some children even think that they can hide from their parents simply by closing their eyes. If I cannot see you, you must not be there. There are probably a few adults you wish you could play that game with: I close my eyes and you so-and-so disappears.

One of my favorite Psalms of the Old Testament is Psalm 139. The Psalmist insists we cannot play “cat and mouse” with God, which, by the way, happens to be a good thing. The psalmist sings: “Where can I go from your spirit? / From your presence, where can I flee? / If I ascend to the heavens, you are there; / if I lie down in Sheol, there you are. / If I take the wings of dawn / and dwell beyond the sea; / Even there your hand guides me, / your right hand holds me fast” (Psalm 139:7-10). The psalmist forgot to mention the child’s trick of closing his or her eyes to make another person disappear, but clearly that will not work on God either.

Jesus plays a little cat and mouse with the Pharisees in the gospel today. Caiaphas declares it is better for one man to die rather than the whole nation be exterminated. We read how Jesus reacts: “So, Jesus no longer walked about in public among the Jews, but he left for the region near the desert, to a town called Ephraim, and there he remained with his disciples.” Like I tried to hide behind Preston Dubina so little Reed would not see or find me, so Jesus hides in Ephraim, out of the sight of the Jewish authorities. But Jesus was also very familiar with Psalm 139 (maybe his favorite psalm?), and he knew he would never be outside the loving reach of his Father’s loving right hand. Jesus would never lose sight of his Father, even when he closed his eyes and died on the Cross. Even though God was out of Jesus’ sight, the Father was not out of his mind.

My friends, it is okay to play cat and mouse with small children and sometimes even with adults, but be very careful you not try to play that game with God. But we do try. Unfortunately, our whole country seems to want to shut our collective eyes against God and pretend he does not exist. If we remove his presence from the public square, we childishly think, maybe God will disappear all together. Doesn’t this sum up the silliness of modern atheism Nietzsche, Comte and Fruerbach: let us close our philosophical eyes and maybe God will magically disappear. We can also be tempted to exclude God from areas of our personal life. We try to hide our sexuality from God, or our prejudices about minorities or immigrants from God, or we conceal our political views from God’s sight, or we think we can go on vacation or spend our money and those things are none of God’s business. But we really cannot hide any of these things from God’s loving gave, not even the deepest secrets of our hearts. If we were a little wiser, like Jesus, we wouldn’t want to hide anything from him.

I was moved to tears by Bishop Robert Barron’s description of the word “adoration,” like when we sit in Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament. It sums up what I am trying to say about not playing cat and mouse with God. Bishop Barron wrote: “The term ‘adoration’ comes from the Latin ‘adoratio,’ which in turn is derived from ‘ad ora” (to the mouth). To adore, therefore, is to be mouth to mouth with God, properly aligned to the divine source, breathing in God’s life.” Bishop Barron continues: “When one is in the stance of adoration, the whole of one’s life – mind, will, emotion, imagination, sexuality – becomes ordered and harmonized, much as the elements of a rose window arrange themselves musically around a central point” (Catholicism, 21). In other words, not only do we not want to close our eyes to God; we do not even want to close our mouth to him.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

A Mile Wide

Fostering time alone with Jesus who loves us

03/23/2018

Jermiah 20:10-13 I hear the whisperings of many: "Terror on every side! Denounce! let us denounce him!" All those who were my friends are on the watch for any misstep of mine. "Perhaps he will be trapped; then we can prevail, and take our vengeance on him." But the LORD is with me, like a mighty champion: my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph. In their failure they will be put to utter shame, to lasting, unforgettable confusion. O LORD of hosts, you who test the just, who probe mind and heart, Let me witness the vengeance you take on them, for to you I have entrusted my cause. Sing to the LORD, praise the LORD, For he has rescued the life of the poor from the power of the wicked!

We live in a world of increasing inter-connectedness. It seems we are virtually never alone. This is especially true for people like me who are tied to their smart phones. We are connected to our family no matter where they live, even on the other side of the world. I love to text back and forth with my cousin Raju in New Delhi, but I often forget he is 11 hours ahead of me. When I send a text to him on Sunday at 6 p.m., he is receiving it on Monday morning at 5 a.m. (He loves it when I do that.) We are immediately connected to tragedies like school shootings or natural disasters, and we weep as we watch them unfold. I know if there are bears or bulls roaming through the stock market minute by minute. The slip of the tongue of a politician is broadcast not only all over the world, but into each person’s pocket. It feels like we know what is happening to everyone everywhere in the world at every moment.

But ironically, people also feel incredibly alone. In a sense, when we are connected to everyone, we can feel like we are not really connected to anyone. Increasingly rare are conversations that last more than a few moments because they happen over texts; it feels like a privilege to talk to someone on the phone. Teenagers experience this isolation and try to get attention by cutting on their bodies. They think that maybe then someone will stop and talk to them and give them undivided time and attention. I worry especially about widows and widowers who have lost their life partner, with whom they shared everything. They are now thrown into a world in which people share very little but share it with everyone. Our relationships have become “a mile wide but an inch deep.”

The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah was very familiar with feeling alone but he also knew where to turn for comfort, namely, to God. He writes: “All those who were my friends are on the watch for any misstep of mine…But the LORD is with me, like a mighty champion: my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph.” Notice Jeremiah is talking about his friends who have turned on him. Jeremiah could not blame his smart phone for feeling isolated from others, but he became acutely aware that he was becoming increasingly alone in his journey as a prophet. In that isolation, Jeremiah turned to the Lord. Jeremiah’s relationships with his friends might have felt “a mile wide and an inch deep,” but his relationship with God felt “an inch wide but a mile deep.” In his suffering and isolation, Jeremiah found quality time for God, giving him his full and undivided attention.

My friends, may I suggest that you not wait till suffering strikes to spend quality time with the Lord? That is, do not let your relationship with God continue to be “a mile wide and an inch deep” like so many of our other relationships these days. St. Teresa of Avila, the great Carmelite mystic, taught that prayer was the best way to spend quality time with God. She wrote in her autobiography: “For mental prayer in my opinion is nothing else than an intimate sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with him who we know loves us” (The Life of St. Teresa of Avila, 8.5). When you pray try to turn your smart phone completely off, rather than just turning it to “silent.” In your conversations with people allow time for silence, even if it feels a little awkward. That is called “a pregnant pause” because it can give birth to a beautiful friendship that may be an inch wide but a mile deep. Yesterday someone brought a couple of board-games to the office for the youth group. I said the teenagers would scoff at it, but the ladies in the office said their kids loved playing board games and it created really meaningful family time.

Sometimes the only way to be more connected to the people right in front of us (including God) is to be less connected to the rest of the world. That is the only way we will overcome our aching loneliness.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Love of Land

Learning to love our neighbor more than our land

03/22/2018

Genesis 17:3-9 When Abram prostrated himself, God spoke to him: "My covenant with you is this: you are to become the father of a host of nations. No longer shall you be called Abram; your name shall be Abraham, for I am making you the father of a host of nations. I will render you exceedingly fertile; I will make nations of you; kings shall stem from you. I will maintain my covenant with you and your descendants after you throughout the ages as an everlasting pact, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. I will give to you and to your descendants after you the land in which you are now staying, the whole land of Canaan, as a permanent possession; and I will be their God." God also said to Abraham: "On your part, you and your descendants after you must keep my covenant throughout the ages."

I do not think you can call yourself a true “Southerner” without watching the classic movie “Gone with the Wind,” or at least reading the novel by the same name written by Margaret Mitchell in 1936. Let me warn you, though, it is not very politically correct in its depiction of slavery or African Americans. It would be surprising, actually, if it were since it was produced from the culture of the 1930’s and telling a story taking place in the Civil War South. The plot revolves around two themes: love and land. It begins with love for the land and ends with love being worth more than the land.

Scarlett O’Hara (the protagonist of the story) is taught by her Irish father to love the land. He gently scolds her: “Do you mean to tell me, Katie Scarlett O’Hara that Tara, that land doesn’t mean anything to you? Why, the land is the only thing in the world worth workin’ for, worth fightin’ for, worthy dyin’ for, because it’s the only thing that lasts.” And throughout the movie land certainly seems to last a lot longer than Scarlett’s love as her heart bounces back and forth between Ashley, Charles and Rhett Butler. But what happens by the end of the story? Scarlett leaves the land of Tara in pursuit of Rhett, whom she loves. The story of “Gone with the Wind” is really about how Scarlett learns to love people more than she loves the land. Sooner or later the land will be “gone with the wind.”

I would suggest to you that the story of the Scriptures can also be understood in terms of learning to love people more than the land, and ultimately about learning to love God above all. In Genesis 17, God makes a covenant with Abraham and God sounds a lot like Gerald O’Hara, Scarlett’s father. We read: “I will give to you and to your descendants after you the land in which you are now staying, the whole land of Canaan as a permanent possession.” The whole Old Testament revolves around love of the land, like Gerald O’Hara’s heart and the Old South revolved around love of the land. By the way, this is the reason why modern-day Israelis and Palestinians continue to argue and fight over the land of Israel. Like Scarlett O’Hara, they still have yet to love the people more than the land.

But Jesus explains the covenant was never really about the land, but about love. Jesus answers the Jewish leaders: “Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day; he saw it and was glad.” In other words, Abraham understood the promise of land was only a down-payment on the real covenant, which would be the love between God and his people. Jesus was the literal embodiment of that love, and in that sense Abraham looked forward to the coming of Christ. But the Jews would not let go of the land, and they still try in vain to hold on to the land today.

Ask yourself today: are there things you love more than you love other people, and even more than you love God? Being Southerners, we can be a little too tied to the land, or even to our Southern culture. To love our past is great, as long as it does not prevent you from loving other people. Do we love our possessions more than other people? How tragic to see families torn apart by disputes over inheritances; as if we loved property more than our siblings. The same can be said for our native language: do we love our language more than people who speak another language? Instead of being inordinately attached to the land (or other material things), like Gerald O’Hara and the people of the Old Testament, see all earthly goods as a down-payment on the real blessing of love for neighbor and for God. The only land we should love is where the streets are paved with gold in heaven.

C. S. Lewis captured the essence of this struggle when he wrote: “You cannot take all luggage with you on all journeys; on one journey even your right hand and your right eye may be among the things you have to leave behind” (The Great Divorce). He was alluding to our final journey after death hopefully headed to heaven. And on that trip, we will not be able to pack any land, but we will be able to pack all our love.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

The Master Craftsman

Learning how the Lord must build the house

03/19/2018

Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24A Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ. Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.

A friend of mine is now the bishop of the Diocese of Tulsa, Bishop David Konderla. He was two years ahead of me in the seminary in Dallas. He talks slow, but he smiles big, and he has a heart the size of the state of Texas, where he is from. He grew up in Bryan, and is the second of twelve children. He is a big Aggies fan, but we will forgive him for that. Interestingly, he worked as a machinist for several years before entering the seminary. In fact, in the seminary, he could usually be found down in the garage working on lawn mowing equipment. When he was made bishop of Tulsa, he posted pictures on social media of the progress he was making in fashioning his own bishop’s crosier, the staff the bishop carries at Mass. He made it himself. God has given him a gift to build with his hands.

Ironically, though, his episcopal coat of arms quotes Psalm 127, which begins, “Nisi Dominus aedificaverit.” That means, “unless the Lord builds,” and the psalm goes on to explain that all human efforts to build without God’s grace are futile. On the other hand, when God builds the house, it stands forever. God is the Master Craftsman. As much as Bishop Konderla loves to build with his own hands, he readily admits that his constructions would fall into ruin unless the Lord builds (nisi Dominus aedificaverit). Any success Bishop Konderla will enjoy as a bishop in Tulsa will be because the Lord was building the Kingdom. What a profoundly humble insight from a machinist who knows how well he can build something himself.

March 19 is the feast of St. Joseph, the husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Like Bishop Konderla, St. Joseph was a man highly skilled with his hands in carpentry. It is no exaggeration to suggest that he may have built the house of the Holy Family lived in during their years in Nazareth. But there was another “house” Joseph would not get to build, namely, the house of his family. Think of “house” in this sense as a “dynasty,” that is, by having children and raising up an heir. That is precisely what the angel announced to Joseph when he said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” In other words, the Holy Spirit would build Joseph’s house, his dynasty, by giving him an heir. Catholic Christians believe that St. Joseph and the Blessed Virgin Mary remained celibate throughout their marriage, and never had any other children. St. Joseph understood every bit as much as Bishop Konderla that “unless the Lord builds the house,” all our labor is in vain. St. Joseph was a skilled carpenter, but it was God who would build his house.

I believe this is why prayer is so pivotal in the life of a Christian. What is one of the biggest reasons people give for not dedicating serious time for prayer? They say, “I am too busy. I do not have time to pray.” What are we all busy about? Most of us are busy building: building a business, building a medical practice, building a school, building a church community, building a family by raising children, building a nation. And therefore, we do not have time to come to Mass or to spend time in Adoration, or meditate on Scripture, or whisper the words of the Rosary, or simply to spend time in the quiet with the Lord. Today, listen to the machinist from Tulsa and to the carpenter from Nazareth, who say: “Nisi Dominus aedificaverit” (unless the Lord builds), everything we build will soon fall into ruin. Archbishop Fulton Sheen once said, “Waste a little time in prayer with Jesus.” Prayer sometimes feels like a waste of time because must we stop building and we remember who is the Master Craftsman.

Listen to the first two verses of Psalm 127: “Unless the LORD build the house, they labor in vain who build. Unless the LORD guard the city, in vain does the guard keep watch. It is vain for you to rise early and put off your rest at night, To eat bread earned by hard toil— all this God gives to his beloved in sleep.” So, go take a nap in Adoration, and let God do the building.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Fighting for Family

Loving brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the world

03/18/2018

John 12:20-33 Some Greeks who had come to worship at the Passover Feast came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, "Sir, we would like to see Jesus." Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat;  but if it dies, it produces much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me.

There’s an old saying that no one fights like family. But we have to remember that no one loves like family either. I like to say that it is worth fighting for the family we love, and sort of combine both sayings. Since we are starting Spring Break this weekend, and spending a little more time with family or visiting family, I would like to shed a little light on family life from the lamp of the gospel.

First, however, a few jokes about marriage and family to lighten the mood a little. A man and his wife were sitting in the living room discussing a living will. The man said adamantly, “Just so you know, I never want to live in a vegetative state, dependent on some machine and fluids from a bottle. If that ever happens, just pull the plug.” His wife immediately got up, unplugged the television and threw out all the beer.

A married couple was celebrating their sixtieth wedding anniversary. At the party everyone wanted to know how they managed to stay married so long in this day and age. The husband responded: “When we were first married we came to an agreement. I would make all the major decisions and my wife would make all the minor decisions.  And in sixty years of marriage, we have never needed to make one major decision.”

Mind if I share one more? An elderly gentleman had serious hearing problems for a number of years. He went to the doctor and was fitted for hearing aids that restored his hearing to one hundred percent. He returned a month later and the doctor said, “Your hearing is perfect. Your family must be really happy you can hear again.” The gentleman replied, “Oh, I haven’t told my family yet. I just sit around and listen to their conversations. I have changed my will three times.” All families are like fudge: mostly sweet with a few nuts. Sometimes our families can feel like an unbearable burden, but they can also be a source of unbelievable blessings, so they are worth fighting for.

Even though today’s gospel does not speak about family explicitly, I believe it does implicitly, and therefore, importantly. Some Greeks seek an audience with Jesus, and Philip and Andrew escort them into Jesus’ presence. That may seem like an innocuous and innocent enough encounter, but it was nothing of the sort for Jesus. He suddenly and apparently out of the blue exclaims, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified!” Now you have to remember that up to this point in John’s gospel, Jesus has always repeated that his hour had not yet come. That is what he told Mary when she said they had run out of wine in Cana in Galilee, “My hour has not yet come.”

But now upon seeing the Greeks, Jesus saw his life’s purpose flash before his eyes, namely, to save all people, not just Jews but also the gentiles, the Greeks. That is, he had come to establish a “universal church,” in Greek, “katholiké ekklesía,” a catholic church. But his purpose was more personal than even that, it was to establish his own “worldwide family.” Scott Hahn explained: “The Catholic Church is God’s worldwide family that the Father sent the Son to establish by the Spirit” (A Father Who Keeps His Promises, 242). When Jesus sees the two Greeks standing alongside the two Jews (Andrew and Philip), he saw his whole world-wide family in microcosm, a snapshot. Jesus knew that his spiritual family of the Catholic Church would also be like fudge: mostly sweet with a few nuts.

Everyone who is baptized, therefore, always belongs to two families: a biological family but also a spiritual family, a natural family but also a supernatural family, an earthly family but also a heavenly family. For example, I belong to two families: the natural family called “Antony,” but also to the supernatural family called “Immaculate Conception.” Let me suggest three ways you can love both these families, and fight for these two families.

First of all, pray. Pray together with your family (like we do every Sunday by gathering for the Mass), and pray for your family, especially those you do not get along with. When we mention people in the petitions of the Mass – the pope, the president, tornado victims, the hungry, the homeless, or whomever – do you realize we are praying for our brothers and sisters in Christ? We should get as excited about them as Jesus became about meeting the Greeks. “The hour has come” for us to see we all belong to Jesus’ worldwide family of the Church, and pray for each other.

Second, do not lose your sense of humor in dealing with your family. Don’t take your family members too seriously, and don’t take yourself too seriously. Be able to laugh at yourself, and that is why I began with a few jokes about family life. The church staff loves to poke fun at my idiosyncrasies, and I laugh along with them. But since I do not really have any, I have to pretend to laugh.

Thirdly, and this is the hardest thing: hold hope high. That is, do not give up on people, including yourself. People change. Just think about how much you have changed in the last ten years from how you used to think and act. Sometimes we think someone will never change: they were born that way and they will die that way. But that is not true. The ancient Greek philosopher, Heraclitus, said, “No man ever steps into the same river twice, for it is not the same river and he is not the same man.” You change as rapidly as a river flows, and so do others. Therefore, you have good reason to hold hope high for your family members.

As you spend extra time with your family this Spring Break, remember these three tips for a happier family life: pray, laugh and hope. That will help you get along with your biological as well as your spiritual family. And it will help them to get along better with you.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

New Heavens and New Earth

Seeing the seeds of the kingdom in human hearts

03/12/2018

Isaiah 65:17-21 Thus says the LORD: Lo, I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; The things of the past shall not be remembered or come to mind. Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happiness in what I create; For I create Jerusalem to be a joy and its people to be a delight; I will rejoice in Jerusalem and exult in my people. No longer shall the sound of weeping be heard there, or the sound of crying; No longer shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not round out his full lifetime; He dies a mere youth who reaches but a hundred years, and he who fails of a hundred shall be thought accursed. They shall live in the houses they build, and eat the fruit of the vineyards they plant.

The Biblical concept of a new heavens and a new earth is found in both the Old Testament as well as in the New Testament. But each Testament has a very different emphasis. Isaiah chapters 65 and 66 speak of a new heaven and a new earth, but clearly it is referring to an earthly manifestation of that newness. The Old Testament really lacked any sense that God would right all wrongs in the next life, after death. Rather, the Jews believed all would be set straight here and now on earth with the restoration of the Davidic Kingdom. Try to read the Old Testament through the lens of earthly fulfillment of these ancient prophesies; that was their original sense, what Scripture scholars call the “literal sense.”

The New Testament speaks of a new heavens and a new earth in the second letter of Peter and in Revelation 21. But the stress of this second half of the Scripture is decidedly different, it is spiritual and other-worldly. That’s one reason Jesus becomes so perturbed in the gospels with the Jews seeking a sign because their desire was for an immediately earthly good – food, bodily healing, more wine! – rather than waiting patiently for heavenly goods. Jesus wants them to turn their eyes more toward heaven.

Be careful not to take this emphasis too far, though. The two Testaments are only emphasizing one side or the other – earth or heaven – they are not excluding one or the other. The best view is always inclusive: both a new heaven and a new earth. Scott Hahn once shrewdly observed: “Don’t be so heavenly-minded that you are no earthly good.” That would capture the concern of the Old Testament. If we flipped that comment around, we would hit the highlight of the New Testament. That would say: “Don’t be so earthly-minded that you are no heavenly good.” In your Christian experience, especially when reading Sacred Scripture, do you tend to emphasize one more than the other: earth more than heaven, or heaven more than earth?

If you ever visit the Vatican, be sure to get a glimpse of arguably one of the most famous paintings of the Renaissance painter, Raphael. In the antechamber, the room you walk through before you walk into the stunning Sistine Chapel, you find one wall covered with the painting called “The School of Athens.” In the center of the Athenian crowd stand Plato and Aristotle, the central figures in the whole history of philosophy. Interestingly, Plato’s hand is pointing upward to the heavens, while Aristotle (Plato’s student) is pointing downward to earth. In his own artistic way, Raphael taught that the School of Athens also saw the need for a new heavens and a new earth, with a proper emphasis but no strict exclusion.

I believe the best way to balance both heaven and earth – and that is why we read the whole Bible – is to begin with our hearts. The first place we see the sprouts from the seeds of the new heavens and the new earth is not in heaven or earth, but in the human heart. I saw those sprouts last night at the Youth Mass. It was packed with people, they were standing three-deep in the back. Half way through the Mass, Deacon Charlie went to the sacristy to retrieve more hosts for consecration and Communion lest we run out. We had two special groups present: one hundred and fourteen teenagers at the end of their Confirmation retreat (not all from I.C.), and twenty people from our RCIA class.

After Communion I sat for a moment with my eyes closed. But my eyes of faith were wide open. In that crowd I beheld the beginnings of the new heavens and the new earth. Everyone in that Mass believed their true home was in heaven. But they also realized deeply that they must make a difference while they walk in this world. Every heart – including mine – was touched, however inchoately, to be both heavenly-minded as well as earthly good. That is the kingdom of God.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Sorry I am not Sorry

Finding good reasons to make a good confession

03/11/2018

Ephesians 2:4-10 Brothers and sisters: God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ — by grace you have been saved —, raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so no one may boast. For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them.

Catholics love to come up with excuses why they should not go to confession. Therefore, it is the job of priests to convince them they should go to confession. I recently read the story of a German soldier who had been sentenced to death by the French authorities after World War II. But a young priest named Gaston wants to hear his confession before he meets his Maker. Here is how the story unfolds: “The soldier confesses his passion for women and the numerous amorous adventures he has had. The priest explains that he must repent to obtain forgiveness and absolution. The soldier answers, ‘How can I repent? It was something I enjoyed, and if I had the chance I would do it again, even now. How can I repent?’

Father Gaston, who wants to absolve the man who has been marked by destiny and who is about to die, has a stroke of inspiration and asks, ‘But are you sorry that you are not sorry?’ The young man answers impulsively, ‘Yes, I am sorry that I am not sorry.’ In other words, he is sorry for not repenting. That sorrow is the opening that allows the merciful priest to give the man absolution” (The Name of God is Mercy, xxv-xxvi). Catholics use their creative juices to cook up excuses for not confession; therefore priests must find even better recipes of reasons why they should confess. God only needs the smallest crack in the armor around our hearts to pour in his merciful love. Sometimes, just being sorry we are not sorry suffices.

St. Paul, one of the early pastors of the church, puts forward the best reason why Christians should approach Jesus’ merciful love and seek forgiveness of sins. He writes to the Ephesians: “God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, even when we were dead in our transgressions brought us to life with Christ.” Pope St. John Paul II in 1980 wrote a papal document called “Dives in misericordia,” (rich in mercy), based specifically on this passage from Ephesians. St. Paul and the pope both argued that the greatest reason to confess is the overwhelming mercy of God, next to which our sins shrink to insignificance. Sometimes in confession, after someone has listed their sins, I smile and reply, “That’s not so bad.” That always brings a smile to the penitent’s face. I do not say that to minimize the seriousness of sin, but I do want to maximize the greatness of God’s mercy. Imagine how tiny a golf ball would be next to the blazing sun, and that would be the size of our sins next to God’s burning merciful love. He is “dives in misericordia,” and with the slimmest of cracks in our armor, he can pour his mercy into our hearts.

Let me give you three good reasons to go to confession this Lent. This is the same advice I give to the school children. First of all, little children are scared to death that the mean old priest in confession is going to yell at them when they fess their faults. That may seem like a childish fear, but adults feel that as well. So, let me assure you that no priest will yell at you in confession. They teach us in seminary not to exclaim, “You did what??” in confession. You only see that in the movies.

The second thing is that priests can never reveal anything we hear in confession. We must take those sins to the grave. This is called the “seal of the confessional,” meaning our lips are sealed. For example, if a police officer put me in handcuffs and demanded, “Tell me what Dc. Greg said to you in confession!” Would I tell him? No. What if someone offered me a billion dollars to tell them what Dc. Charlie said in his confession, would I tell him? Well, maybe for two billion I would. No, of course I would not even for two billion, or three, or any amount of money. What if the pope himself asked what someone said in confession, would I tell the Holy Father? No, never. Of course, he would never do that, but you get my point. That is probably why God called only men to be priests: men have such terrible memories that we would never remember anything important someone tells us. You are safe coming to a male priest for confession.

And the third thing is the peace you feel after confession. I will never forget how one child was so nervous about making her first confession. But after she finished, she ran back to her mother waiting in the pew, and squealed, “Can I do it again??” God in his infinite wisdom, knowing how hard it is for us to swallow our pride and confess our sins, has hidden a special grace in his sacrament. For all who humbly confess their sins, they know the unique peace that comes from God’s pardon. I am convinced that in the sacrament of confession you can literally feel God’s grace, his embrace of love, he who is “dives in misericordia.” You may not leave confession and squeal “Can I do it again??” But you will feel good, and know God’s peace.

What are your excuses for not going to confession? We all have them and they are a mile long. However, they are only excuses for not being as happy as God wants you to be. In a word, it is happiness you will find when you go to confession. God does not need much of a crack in your armor to pour his rich mercy into your soul. He only needs you to be sorry that you are not sorry.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Primary Color of Humility

Seeing how the virtue of humility holds the secret to all relationships

03/10/2018

Luke 18:9-14 Jesus addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else. “Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity — greedy, dishonest, adulterous — or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’ But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’ I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

I am convinced the key to happy and healthy human relationships is the virtue of humility. Of course, we need all the virtues for human flourishing (to be the best version of ourselves, as Matthew Kelly says): prudence, justice, courage, temperance, faith, hope and love. But in the arena of relationships (relations with others and ourselves), humility reigns supreme. Let me give you a few examples.

Marriages that struggle and end in divorce have complicated causes and circumstances, to be sure. But I cannot help but wonder if husband and wife had been a little more humble and accepted some blame and extended a little more forgiveness (both of which require humility) the marriage might have been saved. Think about wars that have ravaged the landscape of human history. What would have happened if Hitler had been a little more humble – it is possible World War II might have been averted. The same holds true in any given work setting, in an office, in a factory, on the farm, in a church. The intrigue, gossiping, sabotaging, in-fighting, jealousy, egotism, ambition, and pride would all be swept away in an instant if each employee tried to be more humble.

Humility is also the key to unlock success in the spiritual world of relationships. What made Adam and Eve eat the fruit of the forbidden tree in Eden if not a lack of humility in obeying the command of God? Just be humble and do what God commands, we cry helplessly, instead of thinking you know better than God. But there is no need to blame Adam and Eve alone, you and I do the same thing every time we sin. We disobey God because we think we know better than he does. In our relations with the heavenly hosts, Mary, the angels and the saints, humility helps us see how much we depend on their prayers and protection, while foolish pride prompts us to believe we can go it alone. Humility is the reason for Catholic calisthenics at Mass: bowing, kneeling, standing and sitting. We humble ourselves by bending the knee before God. Humility is also the secret weapon in our battle against Satan. We are not stronger than him, we are not smarter than him, we are not more beautiful than him, we are not more clever than him, we are not more creative than him, we are not more strategic than him, we are not more daring than him. We can only be more humble than him because he does not possess a drop of humility. When we are armed with humility we can withstand the temptations and attacks of the Evil One, and his terrifying kingdom falls like a house of cards.

In our dealings with our brothers and sisters in Christ, our spiritual family, humility must be our watchword. Would the Protestant Reformation have exploded and shattered the unity of Christendom if spiritual leaders were more humble? Would the Catholics and Orthodox churches have split in 1054 if pope and patriarchs had been more humble? Would there have been heresies if heretics were more humble, or persecutions if persecutors had been less prideful? Even in relating to ourselves, isn’t the lack of humility really the root of vanity, and addictions, and ambitions and our greed, our laziness and our lust? A little humility would have healed all those disordered passions. How dramatically different would have been depicted the painting of human history over the wide canvas of creation if humility had been the primary color!

No wonder, then, that Jesus insists so emphatically on his disciples to be more humble. The parable of the Pharisee and the tax-collector (publican) who pray in the Temple is ultimately not about prayer, but about humility. Jesus draws the conclusion why the publican’s prayer was deemed acceptable while the Pharisee’s prayer was rejected. Our Lord says: “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” With one sentence Jesus has handed humanity the cure to the cancer that plagues all human relationships: from the bedroom to the boardroom to the bordello.

Today, pray for the grace to be more humble. You will not find happiness in any of your relationships without humility. And if everyone on earth tried to be more humble, we would turn the page to a very hopeful chapter in the book of human history.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Pen Pushers

Seeing how the world revolves around the finger of God

03/08/2018

Luke 11:14-23 Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute, and when the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke and the crowds were amazed. Some of them said, "By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons." Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven. But he knew their thoughts and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house. And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons. If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own people drive them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man fully armed guards his palace, his possessions are safe. But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, he takes away the armor on which he relied and distributes the spoils. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters."

I am rather fond of the adage, “the pen is mightier than the sword.” It means obviously that the hands wielding pens to write books have changed human history more than military might. Emperors and dictators might demand obedience at the tip of a sword, but hearts are moved to willing obedience and saintly sacrifice at the tip of a pen. How many kingdoms and nations and empires have ascended to power and then descended to be just a footnote in the pages of history but the writings of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John continue to chart the course of humanity’s future?

One pen I am personally grateful for is the one carried in the pocket of St. Francis Xavier. St. Francis was a close companion of St. Ignatius of Loyola, who started the mighty Jesuits. St. Francis traveled to India to evangelize my ancestors, and his hand may have baptized my great, great, great grandfather! A relic of St. Francis’ hand and arm (miraculously preserved from decay) travels all over the world, like St. Francis’ whole body did in the 16th century. St. Francis took up his pen to write to his spiritual brother St. Ignatius, saying: “Again and again, I have thought of going round the universities of Europe, especially Paris, and crying out like a madman, riveting the attention of those with more learning than charity: ‘What a tragedy: how many souls are being shut out of heaven and falling into hell thanks to you!’” My salvation owes more to the pen of St. Francis than to the politics of presidents or prime ministers.

Jesus almost adopts this adage when he explains his power to cast out demons. The people think real power is a kind of physical force, like tanks and battleships. So they say: “By the power of Beelzelub, the prince of demos, he casts out demons.” When the Jews thought of power, they envisioned the armies of the Roman empire that had subjugated them. But Jesus replies: “But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.” The Jews thought that swords and spears defined strength, but Jesus believed that his little finger was stronger than the armies of Caesar or Beelzebub. Satan needs an army, but God needs only a finger. Michaelangelo depicted the power of God’s little finger in the fresco of the creation of Adam in the Sistine Chapel. God’s finger reaches out to touch Adam’s finger, bringing him into existence and launching all human history. It was the finger of the Son of God that would recreate humanity into the Church and launch all salvation history. Jesus did precisely that through the pens of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John…and St. Francis Xavier.

Let me suggest to you a couple of ways you can be touched by the finger of God, and feel real power. First of all, read the Bible. Those seventy-three sacred books were not written merely by human hands, but they were co-authored by the Holy Spirit. I admit it can be hard to see God’s hand in the numbing details of Deuteronomy or in the savage battle of the Judges. But it is there. St. Augustine at first turned up his nose at the simple and unsophisticated style of the Scriptures. But after his conversion, he wrote hardly one paragraph without quoting some Bible verse, just read his Confessions.

And second read the writings of the saints, like St. Francis Xavier. You have probably already done that if you have read anything written by Pope John Paul II, or Mother Teresa. I would also suggest getting Bishop Taylor’s book on Blessed Stanley Rother. The saints knew better than anyone that the pen is mightier than the sword. They often died by the sword, but their writings are more alive today then the legacy of those who persecuted them.

“But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.” The world revolves not around the tip of a sword, but around the tip of a pen; indeed, around the tip of the finger of God.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Feng Shui

Seeing the hidden harmony in God’s creation

03/07/2018

Matthew 5:17-19 Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”

Have you ever heard the term “feng shui” before? It refers to a Chinese philosophy that espouses that everything has a proper place and particular purpose in this world. Nothing is irrelevant or insignificant. And if you listen carefully, you can almost catch a hidden harmony in the cosmos. Now, my point is not to teach you Chinese philosophy today. But there is a little overlap with Christian spirituality. If you ever visit a Catholic cemetery, you will notice all the tombstones are usually facing the same direction, namely, east. Why? Christians believe that Jesus will return at the end of time like the sun rising in the east, and we all want to be facing the right direction when he returns! The Chinese call that hidden harmony between how we bury the dead and the rising sun “feng shui,” but we Christians call that faith. Christian faith allows us to see the deeper connectedness between all things, and ultimately our connection to God.

I feel very honored and blessed to have a quartet from the Fort Smith Symphony at Mass today. If you have never been to the symphony, you should definitely go. These guys are better than the Zac Brown Band! It is very easy to hear that hidden harmony that the Chinese call feng shui at a classical concert. Every instrument is indispensable, each one serves a specific purpose – from the thunderous kettle drums to the soft and sensitive violin. For the keenly trained ears of the maestro, who conducts the symphony, however, the harmony would be utterly shattered if each and every instrument did not find its proper place and fulfill its particular purpose. The Chinese would call the sounds of a classical concert a sort of musical feng shui. Johann Sebastian Bach might call that faith.

Jesus talks about a hidden harmony that exists even in the law, the Ten Commandments God gave Moses on Mount Sinai. Listen to how respectful Jesus is about the whole law of God, and even each of its tiny parts. He says: “Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter, will pass from the law, until all these things have taken place.” I sometimes hear people say, “I don’t need to go to confession. After all, I didn’t kill anyone or rob a bank!” That may be true. But have you told lies? Have you had lust in your heart? Have you eaten to excess? Some sins are like kettle drums and easy to notice (like murder), while other sins are spiritually softer and sound like a violin and therefore we can easily ignore them. A mature Christian, however, can hear a sort of holy harmony that reverberates through the whole law, and tries to keep all the commandments, from greatest to the least. The Chinese might call harmony in the law feng shui, but Jesus would call that deeper connection the vision of faith.

Today I want to tell you how I see a hidden harmony in this whole school. Each student and every teacher contributes his or her unique sound to the educational symphony that is Trinity Junior High. Sometimes we think it is only the really smart students or the outstanding athletes or those who win awards and honors who make this school special. They are important, of course. But they are only half of the harmony of Trinity. There are also some student who may not make all A’s, or stand out in sports, or excel in extracurricular activities. Your softer sounds, like the violin in a symphony, like the smallest letter of the law, are the other half of the harmony of Trinity. I don’t want any student to think you don’t count or you don’t matter here at Trinity.

Be careful, boys and girls, don’t write someone off, or ignore them, or be mean to someone just because you can’t hear the music they contribute to this school. Sometimes students even transfer from one school to another because they don’t get along with another student. I can understand that, but that also makes me sad.  Why? Because you missed the hidden harmony among all the students and teachers who make up the symphony here at Trinity. There would never be a symphony if we were all kettle drums.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Childlike

Learning from children how to grow in health and holiness

03/05/2018

2 Kings 5:1-15AB Naaman, the army commander of the king of Aram, was highly esteemed and respected by his master, for through him the LORD had brought victory to Aram. But valiant as he was, the man was a leper. Now the Arameans had captured in a raid on the land of Israel a little girl, who became the servant of Naaman's wife. "If only my master would present himself to the prophet in Samaria," she said to her mistress, "he would cure him of his leprosy." Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha's house. The prophet sent him the message: "Go and wash seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will heal, and you will be clean." But Naaman went away angry, saying, "I thought that he would surely come out and stand there to invoke the LORD his God, and would move his hand over the spot, and thus cure the leprosy. Are not the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be cleansed?" With this, he turned about in anger and left. But his servants came up and reasoned with him. "My father," they said, "if the prophet had told you to do something extraordinary, would you not have done it? All the more now, since he said to you, 'Wash and be clean,' should you do as he said." So Naaman went down and plunged into the Jordan seven times at the word of the man of God. His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

Can you always tell the difference between being childish and being childlike? I think we can learn a lot of wisdom from children, but we have to keep this difference in mind: not every word that falls from their lips is a pearl of great price. Here is an example where it was. I was at a family’s home for supper recently and the ten year old daughter asked me: “Why do you drive your car to church for Mass while Fr. Pius walks across the street?” Caught completely off guard, I stammered some lame answer saying: “Well, I might have an emergency and have to rush to the hospital.” To which she calmly retorted: “Well, you can just walk back across the street and get your car.” After some thought, I realized she was right and I was just making excuses for being lazy.

On the other hand, sometimes children are simply being childish and speaking from immaturity and ignorance. It is amazing what children will do for a free dress day in Catholic school so they don’t have to wear their uniforms, or for a pizza party. They would gladly jump off the Arkansas river bridge and plummet to their death as long as I promised them a Sonic drink. There is nothing particularly wise and noble about that, and we do not want to imitate that behavior. “Childlike” teaches us what to do, while “childish” tells us what not to do.

Naaman, the Syrian general, tries to figure out the difference between childlike and childish behavior in 2 Kings. He suffers from the dread disease of leprosy, and a Jewish slave girl suggests he seek healing in Israel. When he finally relents and goes (against his better judgment), the prophet Elisha (Elijah’s protégé) tells him to wash in the Jordan River seven times. Naaman thinks this is childish tomfoolery, and complains: “Are not the rivers of Damascus, the Abana, and the Pharpar better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be cleansed?” Naaman sounded a lot like me making excuses for my laziness driving across Rogers Ave. But when he finally accepted this childlike wisdom, what is his reward? We read: “His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.” Because he listened to childlike wisdom, he was rewarded with childlike skin. The spiritual symbolism is obvious: listening to childlike wisdom leads not only to health but also to holiness.

Let me ask you again: can you always tell the difference between being childlike and childish? Someday you may enjoy reading Robert Fulghum’s book called All I Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. He tries to tap into that childlike wisdom we all learned (but have since forgotten) when we were five years old, such as: put things back where you found them, keep your hands to yourself, share your toys with others, clean up your own mess, be kind to one another, and live a balanced life of work, play and study. How often as adults and leaders we ignore these basic rules for a happy life by making excuses for our laziness or our ego or our pride, just like me and just like Naaman. But when we remember a little childlike wisdom, we can grow in health and holiness.

Let me leave you with another glimpse into childlike wisdom from Isaiah 11:6, which prophesies how peaceful things will be with the arrival of the Messiah, who he envisioned as a little boy. The prophet says: “Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat; The calf and the young lion shall browse together, with a little child to guide them.” Perhaps there might be a little more peace today if a little Child guided us.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Know and Love

Knowing Jesus by loving all his brothers and sisters

03/04/2018

John 2:13-25 Since the Passover of the Jews was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, as well as the money changers seated there. He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables, and to those who sold doves he said, "Take these out of here, and stop making my Father's house a marketplace." His disciples recalled the words of Scripture, Zeal for your house will consume me. At this the Jews answered and said to him, "What sign can you show us for doing this?" Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up." The Jews said, "This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and you will raise it up in three days?" But he was speaking about the temple of his body. Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they came to believe the Scripture and the word Jesus had spoken. While he was in Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, many began to believe in his name when they saw the signs he was doing. But Jesus would not trust himself to them because he knew them all, and did not need anyone to testify about human nature. He himself understood it well.

To really get to know someone else, and to let someone else really get to know you, are never easy things to do. We can say we know someone when we learn their name, and that is certainly a good start. It is said that President Bill Clinton (our former governor) and Archbishop Peter Sartain (our former bishop), both had an uncanny ability to remember people’s names. But that gift would not do them much good here in Fort Smith unless they also learned people’s maiden names, because everyone is related to every else in this town! I am the most eligible bachelor in this town because I am not from here, but what good is that??

It is not very easy for me as pastor to get to know all the parishioners in our parish because we have over five thousand people registered at Immaculate Conception. I have learned many names, but I have also noticed that some people sneak out the side door after Mass and do not want to get to know me, or let me get to know them. They are afraid if I know them, then I will ask them to volunteer for something or ask for a donation. And they are right, I will! Why? Well, because those activities – of giving your talent and your treasure – make you a better Christian, not just a pew potato. Only if we get to know each other can we begin to love each other.

It seems Jesus also struggles with knowing others and others knowing him. Jesus gives the Jews a hint of his mission by sharing how he will rise from the dead by comparing his bodily resurrection to rebuilding the destroyed Temple. When he said he would rebuild the Temple in three days, he really meant the temple of his body rising from the dead. Jesus wanted to share the biggest achievement of his life with them, but their hearts were closed, and they didn’t understand. St. John describes Jesus’ disappointment saying: “But Jesus would not trust himself to them because he knew them all, and did not need anyone to testify about human nature. He himself understood it well.” You might recall that even our Lord’s closest followers, even Peter the Rock, abandoned Jesus when he was asked about Jesus by the salve girl in Caiaphas’ courtyard. Peter answered: “I do not know him.” Can you imagine hearing your best friend say that about you?

Romano Guardini wrote a brilliant book about Jesus simply called, The Lord, in which he touched on Jesus’ feeling of loneliness. He wrote: “If we peruse the accounts of the Evangelists for a word of someone who loved him, not only as a drowning man loves his rescuer, or a disciple his master, but who loved the person Jesus of Nazareth, we do find something. Not that Christ ever had a genuine friend” (The Lord, 222). Jesus often felt like he walked this world alone. Because people did not know Jesus, they did not love Jesus.

I believe the first step in getting to know Jesus is by loving him in our brothers and sisters. We read in 1 John 4:20: “whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.” Let me give you some striking examples you may be familiar with. Msgr. Jack Harris works with death row prisoners. He knows them by name and loves them and prays for them and prays with them. Fr. Harris knows Jesus because he has first loved Jesus’ brothers and sisters on death row. Dc. Greg Pair works with the Hope Campus for the homeless in our community. For Dc. Greg, the homeless are not a statistic, or an amorphous mob of people (like the television show “The Walking Dead”), but persons with names and mothers and fathers and a past, and dreams for a future. Dc. Greg knows Jesus because he has first loved his poor brothers and sisters. Think about your own life. The more people we love, the better we know Jesus; the more people we choose not to love means the less we know Jesus. Try to bring to mind anyone you have trouble loving – a bitter ex-spouse, a domineering boss, someone from another country who speaks English with an accent (like I did when I arrived in this country), etc. – and I am convinced that it is our lack of love for them that keeps us from knowing Jesus.

To know someone it is not enough merely to learn their name, especially if you live in Fort Smith, you also have to learn their maiden name and you discover they are related to everyone in Fort Smith. The same is true for Jesus. It is not enough to know Jesus’ name; you also have to discover he is related to everyone in the world – because everyone is his brother and sister. And only when you love everyone (without exception), do you really get to know Jesus. Otherwise, we only love Jesus as a drowning man loves his rescuer.

Praised be Jesus Christ!