A Wife’s Wink

Learning five small secrets to a successful marriage

10/30/2018

Ephesians 5:21-33 Brothers and sisters: Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives should be subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is head of his wife just as Christ is head of the Church, he himself the savior of the Body. As the Church is subordinate to Christ, so wives should be subordinate to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the Church and handed himself over for her to sanctify her, cleansing her by the bath of water with the word, that he might present to himself the Church in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. So also husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one hates his own flesh but rather nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ does the Church, because we are members of his Body. For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the Church. In any case, each one of you should love his wife as himself, and the wife should respect her husband.

One of the many things I love about Fort Smith is how often we celebrate marriage anniversaries. And I do not just mean an anniversary of ten years or twenty-five years, but quite regularly we have special Masses for couples who have been married for forty years, or fifty years, or sixty years, and one couple had been married for seventy-five years. They must have gotten married while they were still wearing diapers. What secrets to these couples possess that helped them to weather the storms that so many modern marriages shipwreck on?

In my spare time I work in the marriage tribunal with annulments, and I see the opposite side of successful marriages, that is, when couples cannot stay together and divorce. It is a heart-breaking ministry and the only thing that keeps me going is the hope of healing broken hearts. But often I feel great frustration in the face of so much pain and hurt, like the story of Humpty Dumpty, “who all the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty back together again.” That’s how devastating a divorce feels – shattered hearts and lives that feel almost impossible to put back together. But seeing both sides of marriage – the successes and the struggles – emboldens me to offer some secrets of a successful marriage. I need to be bold because being a celibate priest and not married, I am sort of looking into the house of marriage through a window from the outside. Let me suggest five secrets for a successful marriage.

First of all, St. Paul tells the Ephesians in his celebrated fifth chapter that husbands and wives should “be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ.” By the way, priests fear reading this passage more than the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1 with all the Old Testament names! Even though St. Paul goes on to say wives should be subordinate to their husbands, he has first said they should be mutually submissive out of reverence for Christ. I take that to mean that there should be mutual respect and deference. One spouse is not the boss and the other the employee, much less one the master and the other slave. Rather sometimes, the husband gets to decide, and sometimes the wife is in the driver’s seat. In successful marriages sometimes the husband is subordinate, and sometimes the wife is subordinate, out of reverence for Christ.

Secondly, my parents have been married more than fifty years, and my father always said the family that prays together stays together. Every night my parents gathered the three children before bed and we sat in the living room and prayed one Our Father, five Hail Mary’s (one for each of us), and then a prayer in an Indian language, which I did not understand but I hope God did! I wonder how many couples who get divorced prayed together each day? I think the great blessing and benefit of praying together is you begin to see your spouse the way God sees them, a beloved son or daughter, and it’s a little easier to love them.

Thirdly, good communication is critical. And communicating well has a lot more to do with listening than with talking. What do people do when they struggle to communicate? They turn up the volume like T.V. commercials. She didn’t hear what I said so maybe I should say it louder, and spouses end up shouting at each other when they argue. Rather, I think communication has as much to do with what you don’t say as with what you do say. That is, pay attention to the body language. Spouses share a lot through a frown, crossed arms over their chest, tears in the eyes, a sigh, eye contact – or lack of eye contact. Because husbands and wives miss non-verbal cues, their verbal communication is impaired. Successful marriages are highly attuned to both verbal and non-verbal communication. Couples communicate a mountain of meaning with just the wink of an eye. Neal McCoy sang about how his wife’s wink made everything better. He sang: “And slam bam, I’m feeling alright / Troubles take a hike in the blink of an eye / Don’t need to psychoanalyze or have a stiff drink / All she’s gotta do is just give me that wink.” A wink is non-verbal communication.

Fourthly, trust is the bedrock and foundation of any healthy relationship, especially of marriage. Trust overcomes your feelings of jealousy because you know the other person is totally committed to you. Trust also leaves room for freedom of action because you do not feel the need to force or manipulate the other person into certain behavior to keep you happy. Trust allows each spouse to explore their own talents in careers and with friendships because the other spouse does not feel threatened – they feel trust.

And fifthly, this surprises some couples when I say this but marriage is only for earth and not for heaven. Remember in your marriage vows you said, “Until death do we part,” and when you die, you part. In heaven we will be married to Jesus and not to each other. I shared this in RCIA class recently, and I could tell some people were saddened, but others reacted with relief, saying, “Yes!” In other words, human marriage is a sort of marriage preparation for your real marriage to Christ in eternity. Maybe one reason couples stay together in marriage for 50, 60, 75 years is because they know that this won’t last forever. Couples recall St. Paul’s words in Romans 8:18, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing to the glory that is to be revealed to us.” That glory is the marriage of Jesus and his Bride, the Church.

These are just five small secrets to successful marriages, and I am sure there are many more. Let us pray for all marriages today – both the successful ones and the struggling ones. And do not forget, the One you are praying to will one day be your Spouse.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Nothing to be Seen

Seeing the world with the eyes of faith

10/28/2018

Mark 10:46-52 As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus, sat by the roadside begging. On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, son of David, have pity on me." And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he kept calling out all the more, "Son of David, have pity on me." Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." So they called the blind man, saying to him, "Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you." He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus. Jesus said to him in reply, "What do you want me to do for you?" The blind man replied to him, "Master, I want to see." Jesus told him, "Go your way; your faith has saved you." Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.

No one ever sees everything right before their eyes in any given moment. It is not only hard to take everything in; it is impossible. For instance, no one person in this church can see everything occurring at this minute in the Mass. If each person wrote down what they see, we would get as many answers as there are people. One would describe the poor priest at the pulpit trying to keep people awake. Another would describe the lights in the ceiling wondering about their wattage. A third would be watching the altar servers whispering to each other and trying make each other laugh. Another would be fascinated by why the candles on the altar never get smaller (they are oil, not wax). And yet another would complain they are bored at Mass and there is nothing to be seen at all in church. Everyone is experiencing the exact same phenomenon, but each person is seeing something different. No one person can take it all in, and sadly some take in nothing.

One of my favorite philosophers is the German thinker, Josef Pieper. In a brief essay called “Learning to See Again,” he described his experience of taking a ship from New York to Rotterdam. He astutely observed: “No human being has ever really seen everything that lies visibly in front of his eyes…Who would ever have perfectly perceived the countless shapes and shades of just one wave swelling and ebbing in the ocean!” He continued: “At table I had mentioned those magnificent fluorescent sea creatures whirled up to the surface by the hundreds in our ship’s bow wake. The next day, it was mentioned that ‘there was nothing to be seen’.” Some Catholics come to Mass and react like those passengers on the ship, saying: “There was nothing to be seen.” Whereas, people with eyes of faith would exclaim the opposite: “There was so much to be seen that I could not take it all in.”

The gospel presents us with an ironic episode where a lot of people perceive the same phenomenon, but it is a blind man who is able to see the most. Jesus is leaving Jericho accompanied by a large crowd, when a blind man named Bartimaeus cries out: “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!” Jesus stops and asks the man an apparently absurd question, “What do you want me to do for you?” I would have replied, “Well, what do you think?” Bartimaeus answers as anyone would expect (without my sarcasm), “Master, I want to see.” But I believe more is going on here than meets the eyes! I would submit to you that Bartimaeus already had sight – he could see! – that is, he enjoyed an abundant vision of faith before his miraculous cure, when his physical eyes were opened. That is why, while he was still physically blind, he addressed Jesus as, “Son of David,” which means he knew Jesus as the King of Israel, the rightful heir to the royal throne. Hearing that faith stops Jesus dead in his tracks and grabs his attention. Later after curing his physical blindness, Jesus declares: “Go on your way; your faith has saved you.” Jesus’ miraculous cure of physical blindness was predicated on the blind man’s spiritual vision, that he could already see with the eyes of faith. Even in his blind state, Bartimaeus was the one person on the road out of Jericho would never have said: “There was nothing to be seen!” On the contrary, the blind man could see more than those who had 20/20 eyesight because he was peering through the eyes of faith.

My friends, I believe we all need to cry out with blind Bartimaeus, “Lord, I want to see!”  We all suffer some form of blindness.  Maybe you really have poor or diminishing eyesight and would like Jesus to heal you and restore your 20/20 vision. I would love to stop wearing these readers. But even if we have perfect vision, we still need to cry out, “Lord I want to see!” We need sharper vision of faith. Why? Well, sometimes our faith becomes blurry because of all the scandals in the Church. I don’t know about you, but it breaks my heart to see bishops and archbishops bickering like grade school children. These are the prelates and princes of the Catholic Church, and I am embarrassed by the example we are showing the world. In the face of these scandals, I cry like Bartimaeus, “Lord, I want to see!” I want to see the Church as the spotless and beautiful Bride of Jesus. To see the Church as she truly is requires the eyes of faith.  Those without faith say “there is nothing to be seen,” and leave the Church.

Sometimes, our own sins and selfishness and smallness can blind us to God’s grace at work in our lives. We think we may never overcome some habitual sin, or forgive and forget a hurt someone caused us, or find peace and joy because we lost a loved one to illness or death. In these moments, cry out with Bartimaeus, “Lord, I want to see!” And God will open your eyes to see what St. Paul saw when he declared in Romans 5:20: “Where sin abounds, there grace abounds all the more.” When you look with the eyes of faith you always see more grace than sin.

Bette Midler sang about seeing, too, in her song “The Rose.” Here’s the last verse: “When the night has been too lonely, and the road has been too long. / And you think that love is only for the lucky and the strong / Just remember in the winter, far beneath the bitter snows / Lies the seed, that with the sun’s love in the spring becomes the rose.” Many people look at a winter landscape laiden heavy with snow and pronounce: “There is nothing to be seen here!” But those who look at the world with the eyes of faith always see the seed that will sprout into the rose. When you come to Mass and stare intently at the Eucharist with faith, you might see something surprising. Someone is staring back.  Those with eyes of faith always see the most.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

The Final Fig Tree

Seeing ourselves as God’s favorite fig trees

10/27/2018

Luke 13:1-9 And he told them this parable: “There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard, and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none, he said to the gardener, ‘For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none. So cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil?’ He said to him in reply, ‘Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it may bear fruit in the future. If not you can cut it down.’”

I am not a huge fan of figs, but apparently the Bible is. Figs, fig trees and even fig leaves play a prominent role in the history of revelation in both the Old and New Testaments. Let me give you three quick examples of favorite figs in the Old Testament. In Genesis 3:7, after Adam and Eve commit the original sin, they feel shame because they realized they were naked. Do you remember the first designer clothes ever invented? That’s right: they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths to cover their nakedness and shame for sin. Secondly, the land of Israel is described in the Old Testament not only as “flowing with milk and honey,” but Deuteronomy 8:8 says the land abounds as well “with vines and fig trees.” That land would be prosperous and so would the people who resided there. And thirdly, a fig tree symbolized the nation, the whole people of Israel. In 1 Kings 4:25, each Israelite would live under his own fig tree. And you might remember that is how Jesus first described Nathaniel, and declared he was a true Israelite because he saw him seated under the fig tree. Whenever figs are featured in the Bible, it is no accident, but rather, they serve as a rich symbol of both sin and salvation, and God’s chosen people. The Bible is a big fan of figs!

In the gospels, Jesus also has a keen eye for figs, both fertile figs and fruitless figs, and add a new element to the already rich symbolism. Jesus tells a parable of a landowner who planted a fig tree but the tree was barren. The landowner wants to tear it down but the gardener – notice the gardener! – begs him to leave it one more year so he can cultivate it so it bears fruit. That may seem like a simple story, but if you are aware of the Biblical background of figs in the Old Testament, suddenly the parable becomes charged with spiritual meaning and a compelling message. Recall that figs represent the whole gambit of sin and salvation: simultaneously symbolizing three things: (1) covering the shame of sin, (2) the Promised Land, and (3) the People of God. The parable reveals, therefore, how God has dealt with his people – giving them one more chance, and how Jesus will deal with his people – also giving another chance. As a result, we can now add a fourth feature to these fabulous figs: God deals with our waywardness with forgiveness and mercy. Jesus is a big fan of figs, too!

My friends, may I suggest to you that the ultimate meaning of figs in the Bible lies in seeing yourself as the final fig tree? The stories and parables about figs are not solely for the people who lived in the time of the two Testaments, both Old and New, but intended every bit as much for you and for me. Let’s review the four facets of figs in the Bible and apply them to ourselves. First, the fig leaves covered the sin of Adam and Eve. We have all sinned and sometimes we cover our nakedness and shame with fig leaves of lame excuses and blaming others. Sometimes we use fig leaves so we don’t have to face our own faults and failures, our naked sins. Secondly, the fig tree represented the land of prosperity and plenty. We Americans can become so enamored of the bountiful country we live in – our modern version of the land of vines and fig trees – we forget the true Promised Land of heaven. We should feel like strangers and sojourns here on earth, even in America.

Thirdly, the fig tree points to the true people of Israel, the Chosen People of God, like Jesus said of Nathaniel: “he is a true Israelite.” St. Paul says in Galatians 6:16, that the early Christians were “the Israel of God.” In other words, Israel is not only a country in the Middle East, and not even the Old Testament Chosen People, but a name for the Church, the people on the path of salvation. I admit it can be hard to see the Church as the People of God when we observe the behavior of her clergy, priests and bishops. But so she is, Jesus’ Beloved Bride. And fourthly, the figs symbolize second chances. The gardener – remember how Jesus was mistaken for the Gardener after his resurrection – begs for mercy for the barren fig tree. Our Lord gives us yet another year to change our lives from sinful ways and begin to bear spiritual fruit.

After hearing this homily have you become a fan of figs yet? It’s okay if you are not, because both the Bible and God are huge fans of figs. Why? Because the real fig tree is you!

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Baptism and Cup

Incorporating a little daily dying into our Christianity 

10/21/2018

Mark 10:35-45 James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and said to him, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you." He replied, "What do you wish me to do for you?" They answered him, "Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left." Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?" They said to him, "We can." Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink, you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared."  When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John. Jesus summoned them and said to them, "You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."

May I share a revelation I have had recently with you? Next year I will turn fifty years old, and I am realizing that I will die someday. Shocker, I know. But now I can feel that reality in my heart, not just know it in my head. I even feel it in my bones, especially when I kneel and genuflect at Mass: my bones creak and complain! When I visit someone sick in the hospital it suddenly hits me that someday I will be lying in that hospital bed wearing one of those embarrassing gowns that is always wide open in the back. And the funny thing is: thinking more about death has made me more conscientious about life; I’m beginning to see a close connection between life and death. Archbishop Fulton Sheen once memorably said: the way we live should be a dress rehearsal for the way we will die. In other words, our life should be lived in service and sacrifice – with little daily deaths, all a kind of practice – until even our last breath is taken out of love for the Lord and others.

Let me give you a familiar example. In 1865 the American poet Walt Whitman wrote his most enduring poem about Abraham Lincoln called “O Captain, My Captain.” You may recall in 1865 the country had just weathered the Civil War and Lincoln had saved the union, but shortly thereafter was assassinated. The first stanza reads: “O Captain, my Captain! Our fearful trip is done; / The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won; / The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting, / While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring: / But O heart! Heart! Heart! / O the bleeding drops of red, / Where on the deck my Captain lies, / Fallen cold and dead.” Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865. Lincoln’s life of service and sacrifice for his country had been a sort of dress rehearsal for his assassination. Practice makes perfect. As I turn fifty years old, I realize I need to start the dress rehearsal for my own death.

In the gospel of Mark, Jesus and two of his apostles engage in a curious conversation turning on life and death. James and John ambitiously ask for the favor of sitting on Jesus’ left and right in glory. But Jesus invites them, rather than dream about glory and fame, think seriously about sacrifice and shame of following him. Jesus offers them the images of a “baptism” and a “cup” that he himself will endure and drink, that is, the baptism of dying to self and the cup of suffering. Finally, Jesus concludes with his own example: “For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many.”

Jesus entire life, from his humble beginnings in Bethlehem to his crucifixion on the Cross, was a dress rehearsal for his death: a life of service and sacrifice that ended in deicide, the death of God. Jesus, like Lincoln, was the valiant Captain who shed his blood for others. And the apostles, like me, were slow to start thinking about the close connection between their life and their death. I would suggest to you that baptism (where we are buried with Christ) and the cup of Communion (of the Last Supper) are the sacramental equivalent of the dress rehearsal for death.

I realize this is been a rather heavy homily with all this talk about death, and not just at the end of life, but dying to ourselves a little every day. But I am convinced death is something we must practice every day. In other words, it is not just James and John who must be baptized like Jesus and drink from his cup, so must every Christian, that is, we must die a little every day. Here are a few examples. This weekend we are dedicating our new columbarium, and it will truly be a place of peace and serenity. Stop in and pray for those who are interred there, but also take a moment to mull over your own mortality. I like to tell people: no one is getting out of here alive. Another suggestion is to incorporate some sacrifice into your daily routine. I try not to put any cream or sugar in my coffee, I do not eat my entire dessert, I try not to complain about Fr. Stephen. These small sacrifices will help you prepare for the big sacrifice of death, the dress rehearsal for the final act of your life.

Another suggestion is to serve people in some sacrificial way. Saint Mother Teresa always said “give until it hurts” not just when it’s easy. A friend of mine is an usher in another parish. He told me: “Fr. John, my dream is that a crazed gunman comes into church one Sunday and starts to spray the people with bullets. As he turns the gun to aim at the priest, I jump in the way and take a bullet for the priest and save his life. I know I would go straight to heaven!” I replied, “All the people who had to die for your dream to come true might think otherwise.” My friend, who is a former Marine, grasped the close connection between life and death: the cup of Communion was both dress rehearsal and the final act, both supper and sacrifice.

And finally, pray for a happy death, in peace with God and with others. Revelation 14:13 says: “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on…Let them rest from their labors for their works accompany them.” Practice praying to die in peace, and you will die perfectly.

In 1947 the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas wrote a poem for his dying father urging him to fight for his life. The first lines read: “Do not go gentle into that good night, / Old age should burn and rave at close of day; / Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” Sadly, Dylan Thomas had skipped the dress rehearsal for death, and therefore he did not know how to die well. He did not know how to finish the play.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Saintly Siblings

Learning and loving our spiritual brothers and sisters

10/18/2018

Luke 10:1-9 The Lord Jesus appointed seventy-two disciples whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. He said to them, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest. Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way. Into whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this household.' If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the laborer deserves payment. Do not move about from one house to another. Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you, cure the sick in it and say to them, 'The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.'"

I love the month of October not because it contains Halloween with it characters and costumes and candy, but because this month is star-studded with saints. Indeed, even “Halloween” means “the eve of the all holy ones,” the feast of all saints. But October itself showcases heroic saints like the Carmelites St. Therese of Lisieux and St. Teresa of Avila. Yesterday (October 17) we honored St. Ignatius of Antioch and tomorrow (October 19) we pay homage to the North American Martyrs, St. Isaac Jogues, Jean de Brebeuf and Companions. And today, October 18, highlights the holiness of St. Luke, one of the four evangelists: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

I love learning about the saints because we are really learning about our heavenly family. These are not just super holy people the Church urges us to emulate; they are our brothers and sisters in the Lord. I would argue they are more our siblings than our own flesh and blood brothers and sisters. Remember in Mt. 12:50, when people informed Jesus his mother and brothers were wanting to talk to him, how he replied? We read: “Stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said: ‘Here are my mother and brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister and mother.’” In the liturgical calendar, it is virtually like the Church “stretches out her hand” to these saintly siblings and repeats with Jesus: “here are my mother and brothers.” The saints are our siblings in a more profound and permanent way than our own pedigree, our family tree, so we should love to learn about their lives.

Let me teach you four fascinating facts about our saintly sibling, Luke. First of all, he was an evangelist and not an apostle, although those roles often overlap. An apostle is sent to preach the gospel, while an evangelist is inspired to write the gospel.  Now, Matthew and John had the distinction of being both apostles and evangelists, so do not draw too dark a dividing line between the two roles.

Secondly, the tradition teaches St. Luke was likely one of the seventy-two disciples sent by Jesus in pairs to prepare the places he intended to visit personally. I always read Luke 10 (very fittingly today’s gospel reading) when I bless homes because that passages recognizes both what St. Luke wrote and what he actually did. Luke was writing about himself in Luke 10! When I bless a home, I imitate my saintly sibling, my older brother Luke.

Thirdly, St. Luke has two special talents, he was a painter and he was a physician. According to tradition, again, Luke was the first to paint icons, which involved both contemplative prayer as well as colorful paints. He is credited with creating the Black Madonna of Czestochowa in Poland, to which Pope St. John Paul II had an enduring devotion. In 1932 an episcopal priest named Gaynor Banks started an organization called the Fellowship of St. Luke that eventually evolved into the International Order of St. Luke the Physician, an order promoting Christian healing ministries. How beautiful to see St. Luke serving as sibling not only to Catholics but to all Christians, brothers and sisters in Christ.

Fourthly and finally, Luke is considered the author of two of the longest books in the New Testament, the Gospel of St. Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. Combined, these two together, commonly called Luke-Acts comprise more than twenty-five percent of the whole New Testament. St. Luke was an evangelist and writer par excellence, whose personality and pen were perfectly docile and sensitive to the stirring of the Holy Spirit. A great way to get to know our saintly sibling Luke is to read his ample writings.

Let me leave you with this last thought. A friend recommended a new book by the Nebraska senator Ben Sasse called, Them: Why We Hate Each Other, and How to Heal. Sasse discusses not only the polarization of the body politic, the divisions in our country, but also touches on the deeper issue of loneliness that plagues Americans today. Ironically, while we are connected to more people today than ever before, yet we have never felt more lonely. I cannot help but suspect this loneliness is one cause of the spike in opioid addiction and suicides. Sasee’s solution is to suggest people get to know one another in their home towns: the people walking down the street, the people sitting next to you in the church pew, the people shopping beside you at the grocery store. That sounds like a solid solution, and I would only add one thing. We should also get to know our spiritual siblings, the saints, who are also standing beside us spiritually on the streets, in the grocery stores, and in the church pews, everywhere we go. Jesus stretched out his hand toward his disciples and said: “Here are my mother and brothers.”

Praised be Jesus Christ!

The Greater Good

Seeking in God all our desires for being greater

10/16/2018

Luke 11:29-32 While still more people gathered in the crowd, Jesus said to them, "This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah. Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. At the judgment the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation and she will condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and there is something greater than Solomon here. At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because at the preaching of Jonah they repented, and there is something greater than Jonah here."

Every year, October 15, holds a special place in my heart because it is the feast of St. Teresa of Avila. She lived in the sixteenth century and desired deeply to reform the Carmelite order which had grown lax in its observance of prayer and lukewarm in its love for Jesus. In her book The Way of Perfection, she criticized contemporary Carmelite customs, saying: “Be determined, sisters, that you came to die for Christ, not to live comfortably for Christ” (The Way, 123).

The reason October 15 holds a dear and deep place in my heart is because I spent three months living with the Carmelite friars (that is what the Carmelite men are called), discerning a religious call. Obviously, I did not stay because here I am today as a parish priest. But the desire that drove my discernment was to try to do more spiritual good for the Church. Consider this comparison. An electrician helps one family when they have an electrical short-circuit in their home. That is a good thing. But someone who works at the hydro-electric plant at the dam at the river provides electricity not only to one house, but to hundreds of thousands of homes. That does a lot more good. The electrician is like the diocesan priest, helping individuals and families; but the hydro-electric plant worker is like the Carmelite monk or nun, who helps the whole world. The electricity is God’s grace. Who do you think does more good for the Church and for the world? To me, St. Teresa of Avila stands as a symbol of doing greater good for the Church, “to die for Christ, not to live comfortably for Christ.”

In the gospel, Jesus invites the Jews to seek that which is greater, and he gives two memorable examples, namely, Jonah and the queen of the south. In the time of Jonah, you will remember, the Ninevites converted from their sinful ways because of Jonah’s preaching. But Jesus’ preaching is greater than that of Jonah, and Our Lord’s personal example of spending three days in the tomb – the belly of the earth – will be more compelling than Jonah’s three days in the belly of the whale. The queen of the south sought the wisdom of Solomon. But Jesus’ wisdom is greater because he is the Word of God – the Wisdom of God made flesh. Solomon was the voice, whereas Jesus is the Word, Wisdom itself, and therefore infinitely greater than the voice which merely serves as vehicle for the Word. In other words, Jesus begs the people: don’t you desire the greater good, to do more, to make a bigger difference, to help others more, or like the Army slogan said: “Be all that you can be”? In a word, do you desire greater happiness? You will find that greater desire satisfied only in Christ. But there is a catch, like St. Teresa cautioned: “Be determined that you came to die for Christ, not to live comfortably for Christ.”

My friends, we cannot all be Carmelites as we seek greater happiness and holiness in life. Still we can learn from and live according to three seminal virtues that St. Teresa highly urges for her sisters. Teresa writes: “The first of these is love for one another; the second is detachment from all created things; the third is true humility, which, even though I speak of it last, is the main practice and embraces all the others” (The Way, 66). As a diocesan priest I can practice greater love of neighbor – starting with being nicer to Fr. Stephen (which is not at all easy!) – detachment from all created things – like not looking at my phone too much! – and true humility – like not hoping for more “likes” on my homilies on Facebook! But notice the desire for greater happiness, greater holiness that drives these decisions: they are all an answer to Jesus’ invitation to seek him, who always stands greater than Jonah and Solomon. St. Teresa of Avila helps us channel our desire for the greater good, through love of neighbor, detachment and humility, and find that good in God alone.

In 1078, St. Anselm in his Prosologion came up with a philosophical conception of God, saying, “God is that than which nothing greater can be conceived.” Put positively: he is always greater than anything we can conceive.  In other words, our desire to do more good for others, to feel more fulfilled in life, to find more lasting happiness ultimately ends in God. God is always greater than all our desires, and that remains true whether you are an electrician or a hydro-electric plant worker.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

The Best Inheritance

Desiring an eternal inheritance rather than an earthly one

10/14/2018

Mark 10:17-30  As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus answered him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; you shall not defraud; honor your father and your mother." He replied and said to him, "Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth." Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, "You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." At that statement his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

Several years ago I was having a conversation with my father and the topic of the family inheritance came up, who was going to get what. I tried to play it cool, but I confess it was hard to conceal my excitement thinking about what wealth my parents might leave for me. Now, we are immigrants from India and so we are not rich by any stretch of the imagination, but my parents are comfortably retired and do not have any debt, even their house is paid off. In addition, my brother and sister are married and financially fine, while I am just a poor parish priest living off the generosity of my parishioners, who occasionally throw me a bone. And, since I am the priest in the family, clearly I am my parents’ favorite child. So, I hope you can understand why my hopes were high to hear how big the slice of the inheritance pie would land on my plate.

But my face was crestfallen when my father announced: “I believe the best inheritance you can leave your children is to give them a Catholic school education. That is an inheritance they can never lose or even squander.” He continued: “It will be a blessing to them in this life and even in the next. The rewards of a Catholic school education are immense and immeasurable.” When he finished I asked: “So, does that mean I will not get the house?” Obviously I got the looks in the family, but not the brains. I will never forget my father’s comment, “the best inheritance you can leave your children is a Catholic school education because they will never be able to lose it.” That reminded me of Jesus’ powerful parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15 and how easily earthly inheritances can be lost with little effort. The father of the prodigal son should have sent his boy to a Catholic school!

Jesus echoes my father’s feelings about true wealth and wisdom in his interaction with the rich young man today. A wealthy man asks Jesus what he needs to do to inherit eternal life, to which Jesus replies: “You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” The young man reacted almost exactly like I did listening to my father: “At that statement his face fell, and he went away sad, for his had many possessions.” I felt sad because I hoped to have many possessions! But did you catch the man’s original question: he had inquired: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” The man in the gospel is worried about his inheritance (like I was) and mistakenly assumes the riches of earth will be identical to the riches of heaven. But they won’t be. And when Jesus replies by adding: “then come, follow me,” does he not seem to imply entering into the school of Christian discipleship, where Jesus is the master and mentor and model? In other words, the best inheritance is not worldly wealth and earthly riches but the wisdom and freedom that flow from faith, those will be the only possessions of any value in heaven. Everything else we leave on earth. And to teach that faith first and foremost is the real reason that Catholic schools exist. Every Catholic school strives to be a “school of Christian discipleship, where Jesus is master and mentor and model.”

I am very grateful to Fr. Patrick Watikah and to you all for the opportunity to celebrate the Masses here at Sacred Heart this weekend, and speak about Trinity Junior High. As you can probably guess, I now fully believe with complete conviction what my father said to me about the best inheritance being a Catholic school education. So, let me share some of the blessings that I have witnessed at Trinity Junior High, and then ask for your prayers and financial support in a second collection.

First of all, I want to share the exciting news that this year in August Trinity was able to buy the entire building we used to lease from the St. Scholastica Sisters. We were blessed by a generous benefactor, and we are now looking at a financial future that is sound and stable. We have moved from a paradigm of surviving to one of thriving, so your donations do not just keep the school barely afloat, but will help many more students grow in faith, that eternal inheritance my father was so fond of giving his children. Trinity’s enrollment this year is at 231, which is the highest it has been in seven years.

This year Bishop Taylor assigned Fr. Stephen Elser, who was ordained just in June, to be the chaplain at Trinity. Consequently, there are now two priests providing pastoral care for the school. I like to think of us as the dynamic duo of Batman and Robin, with collars instead of capes. One priest said his superpower was “transubstantiation” - the changing of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ.  Let’s see Superman do that stunt.  Last week Fr. Stephen told me a young man approached him asking curious questions about the priesthood, no doubt he was inspired by Fr. Stephen’s example. Like the man in the gospel spoke to Jesus about how to inherit eternal life, so Trinity students have the opportunity to speak to priests about the best kind of inheritance, the inheritance of timeless faith and true freedom.

May I mention one more blessing at Trinity, which can also be found in all Catholic schools – Immaculate Conception, St. Boniface, Christ the King and Subiaco – namely, we wear uniforms. Uniforms are designed to direct a student’s attention away from fashion and fancy clothes and keep their focus on academics: science and social studies, astronomy and algebra. Sometimes people use clothes make a status statement about who is wealthy, and by contrast, you discover who is not. But like Jesus advised the rich young man in the gospel, “go, sell what you have, and give to the poor,” so Catholic school uniforms try to help students detach themselves from worldly standards and to attach themselves rather to other worldly ones. Through plaid jumpers and uniforms emblazoned with the cross of Christ, Catholic school students begin to value faith over fashion.

This whole homily can be reduced to one sentence that my father memorably made: “the best inheritance you can give your children is a Catholic school education because they can never lose it.” And Catholic school students will never lose that faith they learn, neither here on earth, nor even in eternity.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Volatility Index

Investing in Catholicism for the long run

10/12/2018

Luke 11:15-26 When Jesus had driven out a demon, some of the crowd 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.

Currently, I am reading a fascinating book on investing in the stock market called Stocks for the Long Run written by Jeremy Siegel. Siegel explains in layman’s terms fundamental investing concepts like the price to earnings ratio, or the mean reversion, what major rating agencies provide the triple A rating, or what on earth “quantitative easing” means – that is not a good bowel movement as I used to think – or, the sometimes surprising success of the VIX volatility index. But do not worry, I am not planning on leaving my day job as a priest to become a financial manager or even a so-called day trader. I don’t have any money! In chapter 23, Jeremy Siegel warns that “a little knowledge is a dangerous thing,” and he is clearly talking about me.

But I am learning two things that are enlightening and which, I believe, may prove useful as insights into the spiritual life. First, there are many ways to increase your wealth, to become rich, and stocks are one such investment option, the one Siegel highly suggests. Second, there is always risk in every investment, including stocks, which means you may lose your money and gain nothing. But Siegel insists that compared with the performance of all others investment options, stocks provide the best long-term returns. He writes: “the central tenet of this book [is] that stocks are indeed the best long-term investment for those who learn to weather their short-term volatility” (Preface to Stocks for the Long Run, xix). Just as there are many paths to prosperity, financially speaking, so there are numerous roads to peace and joy, spiritually speaking. And the best road to spiritual success is Christianity, in particular Catholicism. But like Siegel cautioned, we must be willing to “weather short-term volatility.” Siegel argues for “stocks for the long run” and I would urge you to consider “Christianity for the long run.” In the really long run, which includes heaven, Christianity offers you the most sure road to true peace and ultimate prosperity.

In the gospel today, Jesus speaks a lot about demons and expelling demons. The Jews question his authority to dispel demons, even implying he is the head of the demonic army, Beelzebul. Jesus explains that he casts out demons by the finger of God – to highlight how easy it is for him, it is like using his little pinky finger. But notice Jesus also cautions that demonic possessions is a real risk for his disciples. He explains that sometimes the final state of a person ends up being worse than how he began. In this sense, Jesus resembles the financial advice of Jeremy Siegel indicating that being his disciple is the best path to happiness and heaven. Nevertheless, they should be realistic about weighing the risks and rewards of following him. Demonic possession sounds a lot like the “volatility index” where there are short-term set-backs and losses. But the best bet for long-term spiritual investments is Jesus Christ, and the Church he established.  Our Lord assured his disciples in John 16:13: “In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.” You might say the whole Bible might be given a new title, echoing that of Siegel’s book, and we could call it: Christianity for the Long Run.  That is the central tenet of the Bible.

My friends, maybe it would help to see our daily difficulties and excruciating earthly experiences in light of long-term investment in the stock of Christianity. Every investor, whether he invests in financial instruments or spiritual ones, encounters volatility, or to use the Biblical language, demonic difficulties. We face physical illnesses like cancer, we find emotional turmoils like divorce, we discover financial set-backs like a lost job, we endure relationship woes like family feuds, we even hear about bickering and back-biting among bishops in the Church. All these risks and short term losses are part of the volatility we should expect to experience as we stay the course with Christ. But some people are day traders and do not invest for the long run, seeking quick, easy and immediate gains, but they will find it hard to find both happiness and heaven with that strategy.

Of course, I do not know if stocks are the best investment for financial success. Please consult your personal financial adviser – I am keeping my day job! But I do know that Jesus Christ and his Church are the most sound investment you can make for eternal peace and enduring prosperity.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Good, Better, Best

Learning the hierarchy of helping the poor

10/11/2018

Luke 11:5-13 Jesus said to his disciples: "And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?"

Have you heard the proverb, “give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime”? I believe that is the informal slogan for Heifer Project International that provides more sustainable support for helping the poor. Donating a heifer to a poor family provides meat and milk and even money. But notice the underlying dynamic at work between good and better.  Giving someone a fish is good because you addressed a daily need; but teaching someone how to fish is better because you addressed a life-long need.

A similar dynamic helped me discover my vocation to be a priest, that is, taking that dynamic a step further: not only from good to better, but also from better to best. As a young teen I felt a deep desire to help people; I suppose we all do to some degree. But it somehow occurred to me that there are two basic ways to help others. You can help them physically or materially by giving them food, shelter and clothing. But those needs only last as long as someone lives on earth. Another way to help is providing spiritual goods, like teaching someone about Jesus, or reading the Bible, or learning to pray. How long do those spiritual needs last? Obviously, forever. That is the reason I want to be a priest: to take care of people’s most critical needs, their eternal ones.

I did not know it at the time, but that is exactly how Jesus called his first disciples, by teaching them the dynamic of good, better and best. He found James and John, Peter and Andrew who were professional fisherman. He said very alluringly in Matthew 4:19: “I will make you fishers of men.” In other words, pay attention to this hierarchy of helping people. On the first level you give a man a fish (that is good), on the second level you teach a man to fish (that is better), but on the third level you train a man to be a fisher of men and nourish them spiritually, eternally (that is best). Before Peter, Andrew, James and John formed the hierarchy of the Church as pope and bishops, they first had to learn the hierarchy of helping others: good, better and best.

In today’s gospel from Luke 11, Jesus tries again to impress on his disciples the dynamics of good, better and best. He gives several situations where he compares two things: one is clearly better than the other. He says, for example: “What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish?” The answer is obvious to anyone with a shred of common sense. But the example also suggests a spiritual parallel. Jesus is not only talking about literal snakes and fish, but he really means symbolic ones. The snake represents Satan and evil (like the serpent in the Garden of Eden), while the fish was an ancient acronym that summarized Christian belief. The Greek word for fish is ichthus, whose initials make up the phrase: “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.” That is essentially a one sentence summary of all Christianity encapsulated in one word, fish, ichthus. In other words, our Lord’s point is: avoiding giving your son a snake is good, and giving him a fish is better, but introducing him to the Christian faith, symbolized by the ichthus / fish, is best. Hidden in every teaching of Jesus is a hierarchy of helping: good, better, best.

Did you know this hierarchy of helping under-girds all apostolic activity of the Catholic Church? That is, just like Jesus taught his disciples the dynamics of good, better and best, so the Church carries on that task in every apostolic and charitable ministry she undertakes. The reason the Catholic Church operates schools is not only to educate young people, but ultimately so they will learn about Jesus. We want our students not only to reach Harvard but finally to reach heaven. The real reason we run soup kitchens or homeless shelters or clothes closets it not only to provide for the needs of the body, but to help people have faith (however indirectly) and clothe, shelter and nourish their souls. The reason we have Catholic hospitals is not only to heal the body, but ultimately to bring people closer to the Divine Physician, Jesus, who heals us spiritually and eternally. There is not only apostolic or charitable endeavor the Church embarks upon that does not have a spiritual goal as its ultimate aim.  If she is not providing the best of faith, she needs to abandon that activity.

The Catholic Church does not just give a man a fish and feed him for a day, we do not even teach him how to fish and feed him for a lifetime, but we also form him in the ways of ichthus, a fish that is really faith, and that fish of faith feeds him for eternity. That is the hierarchy of helping others: good, better, best.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Scripture not Shakespeare

Giving and receiving fraternal correction with love

10/10/2018

Galatians 2:7-14 And when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he clearly was wrong. For, until some people came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to draw back and separated himself, because he was afraid of the circumcised. And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that they were not on the right road in line with the truth of the Gospel, I said to Cephas in front of all, "If you, though a Jew, are living like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?"

In the past couple of weeks two people have corrected me on comments I made in my homilies. One man took umbrage with my suggestion that Scripture is not intended to answer questions about science, or other special areas of study, like astronomy. He argued that Scripture had a lot to say about everything. And he added that most people would rather I spent my homily talking about Scripture rather than Shakespeare. I sent him a thank you note later letting him know he gave me a lot to think about and how I can improve my preaching.

My second critic took exception with something I said in a Spanish homily. I said I frequently listen to Protestant preachers while driving to and from our mission church in Winslow. It is about 45 minutes, one way. I learn a lot about preaching style from local preachers, but I am careful not to believe their substance. Throw out the bathwater, not the baby. But this man rightly noted that some Hispanics who heard me say that will leave Mass thinking I just told them it was a good idea to listen to Protestant pastors on the radio, since that is what I do. And he was right: I used a poor example to make my point. I should have thought a little harder how Hispanics would hear that homily. Let me add that both men were very polite, respectful and said several times they enjoyed my homilies very much. But basically, my sermons need more Scripture and less Shakespeare.

In the letter to the Galatians we hear how St. Paul had to correct St. Peter. Now bear in mind Peter is the first pope so pointing out his faux pas is a little more intimidating than correcting Fr. John. But St. Paul does it with both tenacity and tact. He first mentions what good work Peter had done in evangelizing Jews and helping them to become Christians. The Jews are the circumcised. But Peter had been less energetic evangelizing the Gentiles, the uncircumcised. Paul argues: “But when I saw that they were not on the right road in line with the truth of the Gospel, I said to Cephas (Peter’s original name) in front of all, ‘If you, though a Jew, are living like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?” Basically, Peter was using a double-standard – one for Jews another one for Gentiles – and Paul said there is only one standard of the Gospel that leads to salvation, namely, Jesus. In effect, Paul was saying: more Scripture and less Shakespeare. Keep it simple.

My friends, sooner or later, you will experience fraternal correction: a spouse corrects her husband, a parent points out a child’s errors, a parishioner suggests improvements for a pastor’s preaching. Here are ten tips for tackling this task. First, if you have to criticize someone else, use the sandwich technique. Begin by complimenting them, then bring the correction, and end with another compliment. Slide the correction between two slices of compliments. Second, correct the behavior rather than belittle the person, hate the sin but love the sinner. People are generally good and doing the best they can. Third, sprinkle a little humor into the conversation to lighten the mood, don’t take yourself so seriously. Laughter is the best medicine. Fourth, John Maxwell said: “Care enough to correct.” Taking time to talk about improvements shows you care about others and love them. The converse is also true: not to correct is not to care. Fifth, add you own faults and failures into the mix, and assure the person you are not judging them from an ivory tower of perfection.

If, on the other hand, you are the one receiving the correction, remember these tips. First, listen lovingly and try to hear Jesus speaking through that other person. Just like Jesus corrected people in the Bible, so he may be correcting you now. Listen prayerfully. Second, focus on what is valuable in their comments instead of what they may have said wrong. Don’t pick apart their points, but be glad they gave you some gold. Third, do not become defensive and explain why you were right and justified in your behavior, but rather listen attentively. To listen well means you are willing to change; if you are not willing to change, you are not really listening. Fourth, be aware of passive-aggressive tendencies. Some people seem very obsequious and humble when they are corrected, but later try to take revenge and sabotage that person and stab them in the back. And fifth, thank the person for taking the trouble to correct you and tell them you will do your best to put their suggestions into practice.

So, in summary: more Scripture and less Shakespeare, and no more Protestant preachers on the radio. Anything else you want me to change, dang it?

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Anonymous Samaritans

Paying our debt of thanks to unknown Good Samaritans

10/08/2018

Luke 10:25-37 Jesus replied, "A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead. A priest happened to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. Likewise a Levite came to the place, and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight. He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them. Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn, and cared for him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction, 'Take care of him. If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my way back.' Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers' victim?" He answered, "The one who treated him with mercy." Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

We are all beneficiaries of anonymous benefactors, meaning more people love us and bless us than we often realize. Last week I was having supper with some friends at a local restaurant and when the waiter brought the check, my portion of the ticket had already been paid. When I inquired who my benefactor was, the waiter said he or she preferred to remain anonymous. So, thank you, whoever you are! When Catholics baptize their babies, the infant receives the gift of sanctifying grace and is utterly oblivious to the Benefactor of that blessing, namely, God. Some Catholics remain sadly ignorant of the Source of that saving grace when they leave the Church later in life.

How many of us acknowledge the gifts and blessings our parents gave us – life, education, a moral code, our value system, our first friends, food, clothing, shelter, etc. But sometimes we act like the Corinthians St. Paul criticized in 1 Corinthians 4:7, saying: “What do you possess that you have not received? But if you have received it, why are you boasting as if you did not receive it?” Atheists arrogantly assert that an anonymous Benefactor has blessed them with existence, and the more anonymous he stays the better. That is as foolish as sawing off the branch that you are sitting on from the tree. Atheists are cutting themselves off from the tree of life. We are far more indebted to anonymous benefactors than we often realize, and it is worth taking a moment to say thank you to whomever they may be.

Jesus recounts the parable of the Good Samaritan. What struck me about the Samaritan’s generosity is its anonymity. The man be helped was “half-dead,” so we can safely assume he was unconscious as he was taken to the inn and treated. Later the anonymous Samaritan promises to pay for additional charges the invalid may incur. Presumably, the victim may have inquired as to the identity of his benefactor – like I asked about who paid for my dinner – and the innkeeper probably answered, “Who cares? He was just a Samaritan!” The insignificance of the Samaritan is part of the point of the parable, highlighting his generosity to a total stranger. In other words, the goodness of the Good Samaritan is showcased not only in that he stopped to help when the priest and the Levite did not; it really shines in his staying a stranger, unknown and anonymous. We are far more indebted to anonymous benefactors than we really realize and we should take a moment to thank them. They are the Good Samaritans in our lives.

Would you mind if I took a moment to acknowledge humanity’s debt to the Catholic Church, a debt most modern people are entirely oblivious to? Christianity stands in many ways like an anonymous benefactor to the modern world; we are the world’s Good Samaritan. Just consider these few examples. The notion of “personhood” – that people are persons and not merely animals or things – comes from Christianity, and is rooted in the Persons of the Holy Trinity. Etienne Gilson wrote: “Christian personalism, also, like the rest, has its roots in the metaphysics of Exodus; we are persons because we are the work of a Person” (The Spirit of Medieval Philosophy, 205). If we moderns saw the branch we are sitting on today off the Christian tree, we may lose our sense of being persons and become little more than animals or things.  We may be more in danger of that than we realize.

Another blessing we have received from the Church is the dignity and vocation of women. Now, some would say the Church has held women back from reaching their full potential, and that may be true in some respects. But Pope Saint John Paul II never tired of talking about a woman’s “feminine genius” (which both the Church and the world need), and William Wordsworth, the great poet, extolled Mary as “our tainted nature’s solitary boast.” Indeed, we hold one woman, Mother Mary, in such high esteem that our Protestant brothers and sisters mistakenly think we worship her. Women cannot get much higher than that! Society owes a debt of thanks to the Church for her teaching on women, even if we have a long way to go to fully appreciate it.

By the way, did you know the Catholic Church contributed “double entry accounting” to the world of economics and finance? A Franciscan friar, named Luca Paccioli, who was the tutor of Leonardo DaVinci, invented double entry accounting, a fundamental principal of modern accounting practice. We owe him and the Church a debt of thanks, and the eternal ledger would not be balanced until we do.

At this Mass, let us thank all those anonymous benefactors who have blessed us, all those unknown Good Samaritans who helped us when we were down-and-out, or half-dead. We may not know who they are, but God does, and he will repay them. Failure to do so would be like sawing off the branch you are sitting on from the tree.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

The Loneliness of God

Feeling the presence of Jesus in our trails and temptations

10/7/2018

Genesis 2:18-24 The LORD God said: "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him." So the LORD God formed out of the ground various wild animals and various birds of the air, and he brought them to the man to see what he would call them; whatever the man called each of them would be its name. The man gave names to all the cattle, all the birds of the air, and all wild animals; but none proved to be the suitable partner for the man. So the LORD God cast a deep sleep on the man, and while he was asleep, he took out one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. The LORD God then built up into a woman the rib that he had taken from the man. When he brought her to the man, the man said: "This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called 'woman, ' for out of 'her man' this one has been taken." That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one flesh.

I am going to say something that is borderline blasphemous, so do not tell the pope, please. I believe there is a genuine sense in which God can feel alone, even lonely. Now that should sound blasphemous or heretical to us Catholic Christians because all good Christians know God can never be alone. He is a Holy Trinity of Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, a perfect Communion of Persons that excludes any form of unhealthy isolation or “rugged individualism” as President Teddy Roosevelt might advocate. God cannot even go to the bathroom alone, you might say.

And yet when God became a man in Jesus, he left his heavenly hearth and home to wander in the wilderness of this world alone. Romano Guardini put it poignantly about Lord’s passion, saying: “One disciple after the other falls away, and the Master is left in growing isolation” (The Lord, 241). Our Lord’s loneliness would crescendo and reach its climax on the Cross, when Jesus cried: “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” Insane as it sounds, God the Son finally feels abandoned by God the Father. And Jesus adds an exclamation point as he expires by giving away his Blessed Mother Mary to his Beloved Disciple John at the hour he needed her most. Jesus died emotionally and existentially alone: without mother, without Father, without friends.

Now, to understand why Jesus underwent such extreme loneliness, we have to go all the way back to the book of Genesis, our first reading today. There, God beholds his handiwork, Adam, and moments after creating him, God declares: “It is not good for the man to be alone,” a statement as prophetic as it is profound. I am convinced that man’s loneliness is not cured by the creation of the animals, and I would go even further and argue his loneliness is not even assuaged by the assistance of Eve, his spouse. I know many married people who feel terribly alone in their marriages. I bet you know such lonely people, too; maybe you are one of those people: the two have not become one. Marriage, in and of itself, does not cure the ache of aloneness, that everyone eventually experiences in his or her heart.

Remember that Beatle’s song called “Eleanor Rigby”? One stanza goes: “Eleanor Rigby, picks up the rice / In the church where a wedding has been / Lives in a dream / Waits at the window, wearing the face / That she keeps in a jar by the door / Who is it for? / All the lonely people, where do they all come from? / All the lonely people, where do they all belong?” By the way, I have no idea what that means!  But I think it means that Eleanor Rigby felt terribly alone, and she picked up rice after weddings hoping a marriage might heal her lonely heart.

I want to suggest to you that God finally addressed the loneliness of Adam – “it is not good for the man to be alone” – by allowing his Son, Jesus, to feel that loneliness too. It’s like that old adage, “misery loves company.” Adam was miserably alone, so Jesus becomes miserably alone, to keep him company. Something deeply psychologically happens to us when we learn another person shares our sorrows: we find immense consolation and comfort, healing and hope. Why else do so many grieving people go to support groups – every sad story of woe seems to lighten our own crosses of pain and loss. All humanity seems to be sitting in a huge circle, a support group, where we all feel alone. And what happens? Suddenly, Jesus comes into the circle, pulls up a chair, and says, “I’m feeling alone, too!” And knowing that he is with us, that he shares our sorrows, especially our loneliness, is no small comfort.

To everyone who has felt alone for whatever reason, Jesus says to you: “You are not alone.” To my grieving brother and sister-in-law whose son died last year, Jesus says: “You are not alone.” To every married person experiencing alienation even in the marital bed, Jesus says: “You are not alone.” To every divorced person who has seen their life shattered by separation, Jesus says: “You are not alone.” To every widow who’s lost a husband and widowers who’ve lost a wife, Jesus says: “You are not alone.” To every priest sitting alone in his rectory on Sunday evening drinking beer and watching football, and to every nun in her solitary cloister cell, Jesus says: “You are not alone.” To every person living in a bustling big city but feels like he or she walks by themselves, Jesus says: “You are not alone.” To every soldier who laid down his life for his or her country, Jesus says: “You did not die alone.”

Notice how Jesus rarely takes away our loneliness – even though we pray fervently that he would! – but he always comes alongside and assures us we are not alone. You know, whenever I get sick, I become a big baby, and I just want my mom to be close by. Somehow her presence assures me that everything will be okay. She may not heal me, but her beautiful smile, the touch of her hand, and her kisses on my forehead give me strength and hope. When I visit someone in the hospital, especially when the person is dying, I try to assure them: “You are not alone; Jesus is with you. He is holding you and he will never let go.”

When God observed in Genesis that “it is not good for the man to be alone,” God did not entirely remove Adam’s loneliness, or ours. But God did match that loneliness with the loneliness of his Son, and seeing that Jesus sits with us in the same support group of grief gives us strength and hope. That is how God answers most of our prayers: not by giving us what we ask for, but by giving us his Son, who walks with us. Jesus walks with even Eleanor Rigby.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Wildflower Garden

Being untouched so we can be cultivated by the divine Gardener

10/04/2018

Luke 10:1-12 Jesus appointed seventy-two other disciples whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. He said to them, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest. Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way. Into whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this household.' If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you.

You probably know Pope Francis took as his pontifical namesake St. Francis of Assisi, the great lover of God’s creation. Inspired by St. Francis the pope wrote an encyclical on caring for creation called “Laudato si’” meaning “Praised be to You.” It is not man and woman alone who praise God, so too do birds and bees and flowers and trees. One section of the pope’s encyclical grabbed my attention, a delightful detail of how St. Francis directed his friars to keep the monastery garden. Pope Francis wrote: “Francis asked that part of the friary garden always be left untouched so that wildflowers and herbs could grow there, and those who saw them could raise their minds to God, the Creator of such beauty” (Laudato si’, 12). Now, that sounds like my kind of garden because I do not have a green thumb, I have a brown thumb (literally, my thumb is really brown), and I kill everything I touch. I tried to trim a crepe myrtle once and my friends called it “crepe murder.” Maybe even I could grow a wildflower garden.

I think St. Francis and Pope Francis are inviting us to reach back to that original garden, the Garden of Eden, where everything was planted by God and tended by the divine Gardener. In the Garden of Eden, all plants and animals were in a sense, wildflowers and wild beasts, because they were “untouched” by the interference of human hands and all creation perfectly and peacefully praised their Creator (laudato si’). The conductors of that symphony of creation was Adam and Eve, the crowning achievement of the Creator, and the wildest of all the wildflowers in God’s Garden of Eden. This original man and woman were also “untouched” – untouched by clothes (they were naked), untouched by sin (they were innocent), and untouched by Satan (the Seducer had not yet arrived on the scene). When Francis requested a portion of his friary garden remain untouched for wildflowers, he was trying to re-create a mini-Garden of Eden on earth, and St. Francis himself would be like the new Adam, trying himself to live untouched by clothes, sin and Satan. Indeed, that is the definition of a saint.

Jesus always lived in these two gardens: the Garden of Eden untouched by human hands, and the Garden of Earth that has been spoiled by sinful human hands. Our Lord touches the world with a green thumb that generates growth and goodness, but we touch the world with brown thumbs motivated by greed and gain that causes decay and deterioration. Jesus instructs his apostles to evangelize with very curious conditions. He insists: “Behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandal; and greet no one along the way.” I believe our Lord wants the apostles to relive the innocence of the Garden of Eden as much as possible in this world, like St. Francis untouched friary garden. So, they must divest themselves of money, clothes, sandals, and even contacts with others. They must, like our Lord, always have one foot in the Garden of Eden, while the other foot is planted in the Garden of Earth. As much as possible, they must be like Francis’ untouched friary garden and live without clothes, sin and Satan. As a result, they will not only be saints but they will touch that original source of all grace and goodness and growth as they are cultivated by God, the divine Gardener.

May I suggest a few ways we can set aside a little portion of our own friary gardens (our lives) to be untouched save only by God’s hands? First, you might actually follow St. Francis’ example and exhortation and create a little wildflower garden at home. But don’t ask me for advice, please consult your local master gardener. Second, set aside time, perhaps ten to fifteen minutes daily, for quiet contemplative prayer. No Scripture, no rosary, no spiritual reading, so that your soul, untouched by anything human, and like the Garden of Eden, may have God alone as your Master Gardener. God will cultivate insights and inspirations that were routine and run-of-the-mill for Adam and Eve. And third, try to live simply – like the apostles and early Christians – divesting yourself of money, clothes, sandals, and even a little less contact with the world. While we have one foot in the Garden of this Earth, we must make every effort to keep the other foot in the Garden of Eden, and imitate the first man and woman, who were entirely untouched by clothes, sin and Satan.

Let me leave you with Joyce Kilmer’s lovely poem called “Trees.” Kilmer was doing with words what St. Francis did with his friary garden, that is, seeing how all creation praised its Maker, and how nature does that better than fallen man. Kilmer wrote: “I think that I shall never see / A poem lovely as a tree. / A tree whose hungry mouth is prest / Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast; / A tree that looks at God all day, / And lifts her leafy arms to pray; / A tree that may in summer wear / A nest of robins in her hair; / Upon whose bosom snow has lain; / Who intimately lives with rain. / Poems are made by fools like me, / But only God can make a tree.”

Praised be Jesus Christ!