Stranger Than Fiction

Celebrating the Sunday of the Word of God

01/26/2020

Matthew 4:12-23 OR 4:12-17 When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him. He walked along from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him. He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people.

Let me share with you a story from a Catholic school religion class. Nine year-old Joey was asked by his mother what he had learned in his religion class that day. Joey began: “Well, Mom, our teacher told us how God sent Moses behind enemy lines on a rescue mission to lead the Israelite people out of Egypt.” Joey continued: ‘When Moses got to the Red Sea, he had his army build a pontoon bridge and all the people walked across the sea safely. Then, he radioed headquarters for reinforcements. They sent B-52 bombers to blow up the bridge and all the Israelites were saved.” His mom frowned and asked: “Now, Joey, is that what your teacher really taught you?” Joey answered, “Well, no, Mom. But if I told it the way the teacher did, you’d never believe it.” Have you ever heard the old adage, “Truth is stranger than fiction,” especially when we discover that truth in the Sacred Scriptures inspired by the Holy Spirit.

                In other words, of all the tremendous truths our precious children learn in Catholic schools, there is none greater than the truth of our faith, enshrined in the Bible. I am convinced that if you could take all the literary genius of John Grisham, Tom Clancy, James Patterson and J.K. Rowling and roll it into one, you could not conceive of fiction as fabulous as the truth you find in the Bible. And that is what our children learn in Catholic schools, and why I believe parents ultimately should send them to Catholic schools, if at all possible.

In the gospel today, we discover more truth stranger than fiction, because it is truth inspired by people of extraordinary faith. Jesus calls his first apostles Peter and Andrew, James and John. What’s so remarkable about this story is that our Lord’s lips utter such a gentle invitation, but these professional fisherman immediately drop everything – they drop their nets, they drop their jobs and they even drop their father – and follow Jesus without any objection, any question or any comment. It would be easier to believe Moses built a pontoon bridge over the Red Sea and had B-52 bombers blow it up to save Israel.

A little later in the same passage from Matthew Jesus flexes his divine limbs by healing all the sick. We read: “Jesus went around all of Galilee…curing every disease and illness among the people.” Just imagine that scene in your mind’s eye. Suddenly this obscure carpenter from Nazareth burst into the public square, calls fishermen to forsake their livelihoods and their lakes, and to follow him by faith. And at the tender touch of his calloused carpenter’s hands, he heals every disease and illness among the people. Truth is indeed stranger than fiction, especially the truth seen through the eyes of faith on every page of the Holy Bible.

This same fabulous truth – stranger than fiction – found in the scriptures inspired Pope Francis to solemnly declare today the “Sunday of the Word of God.” The Holy Father wrote: “I hereby declare that the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (today) to be devoted to the celebration, study, and dissemination of the word of God.” In other words, the pope wants us to do three things today: love the scriptures, learn the scriptures, and live the scriptures (celebrate, study and disseminate). By the way, did you notice how we enthroned the Book of the Gospels next to burning candles immediately after the gospel was proclaimed? The pope said: “It is important that in the Eucharistic celebration the sacred text be enthroned, in order to focus the attention of the assembly on the normative value of God’s word.” To say the bible has “normative value” means it becomes the standard by which we measure the authenticity of our Christian witness. Are we true Christians or not. In short, scriptures provide us with a Christian compass so we do not get lost in this wild world.

My friends, may I offer us three ways to implement Pope Francis’ urging to learn, love and live the sacred scriptures? First of all, send your children to Catholic schools, where they will be immersed in the scriptures. Here at Immaculate Conception School, our students memorize a bible verse each week. On Friday, they have a bible verse quiz. Our kids were doing that even before Pope Francis recommended it, so our kids are “more Catholic than the pope!” In a real sense, Catholic schools are large scale bible study schools, where the scriptures and the sacraments are at the core of all we study. My scripture professor in seminary loved to say: “There’s Scripture and everything else is commentary.” That’s true in every Catholic school: there’s scripture, and everything else we do is commentary.

Secondly, I suggest we take a page from the Protestant’s playbook, and find a “life-verse.” Have you ever heard of that spiritual practice? Basically you scour the scriptures until you find one verse that touches your heart deeply and inspires you profoundly. You memorize it. You repeat it daily. It slowly becomes your life motto. A life verse would be like the inscription on the coat of arms of a bishop. For example, the new bishop of Shreveport, Louisiana is a priest of our diocese, Msgr. Francis Malone. His episcopal motto on his coat of arms is derived from Psalm 116, “Accipiam calicem salutaris,” meaning “I will take up the cup of salvation.” If you have a life verse, you’re basically like a bishop.

And thirdly, dust off your bible and sign up for a bible study class. It’s not too late to make a New Year’s resolution; we’re still in the first month of January. Make a resolution to sign up and faithfully attend a bible study this year. Our parish offers so many options all week long: Sunday evening, at lunch during the week, in the evenings, even Friday morning at 6 a.m. the Men of Faith meet! The bulletin is virtually brimming with bible study opportunities. I’m sorry, but you really have no excuse.

Let me leave you with a moving quotation from St. Ephraim, the 4th century deacon and doctor of the Church, who wrote: “Who is able to understand, Lord, all the richness of even one of your words? There is more that eludes us than what we can understand. We are like the thirsty drinking from a fountain. The Lord has colored his word with diverse beauties, so that those who study it can contemplate what stirs them.” In other words, the truth of faith in the Bible is not only stranger than fiction, it is more sublime than fiction. And that is why the Bible is better reading than James Patterson.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

My Three Sons

Learning to be pro-life by being prolific

01/22/2020

Mark 3:1-6 Jesus entered the synagogue. There was a man there who had a withered hand. They watched Jesus closely to see if he would cure him on the sabbath so that they might accuse him. He said to the man with the withered hand, “Come up here before us.” Then he said to the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?” But they remained silent. Looking around at them with anger and grieved at their hardness of heart, Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel with the Herodians against him to put him to death.

Do you know that I have three children? Oh no! What a terrible scandal! Relax. I am talking about the three books I’ve written called, “Oh, for the Love of God,” “Oh, for Heaven’s Sake,” and “Oh, Lord, Have Mercy.” Maybe all natural mothers will disagree, but it felt a lot like giving birth to a baby every time one of those books was published. For example, it took about nine months of pregnancy and gestation before each book saw the light of day. I agonized and prayed about each one’s name. I have pictures of each book hanging proudly in my office. And now each one has a life of its own, as people read and discuss them, even though their genes came from me. My life often feels like the old television show called “My Three Sons” starring Fred MacMurry, a widower raising three boys.

I mention giving birth to books today because the United States Catholic bishops have designated January 22 every year as “A Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children.” In other words, today all Catholics are called to promote pro-life, especially the precious life in the womb. Why did they choose today? It was on January 22, 1973 that the United States Supreme Court, in the now infamous decision Roe vs. Wade, legalized abortion in all fifty states. It was a milestone in our history for many reasons, but I believe it marked the moment when we went from being a civilized to an uncivilized society. Why? We denied an entire class of people – unborn babies – of their humanity and said it would be okay to kill them. Put simply, abortion is worse than slavery. I’m sorry, I know I am not putting this point very gently, but it is impossible to make abortion antiseptic, clean and pretty. So, today we pray for the “legal protection” of unborn children and especially for the overturning of Roe vs. Wade, and a return to being again a civilized society that believes babies are people, too, who enjoy the full protection of the law.

There are, however, many ways to be pro-life, and one way is to be “prolific.” Did you know that the two words “pro-life” and “prolific” come from the same root? Essentially, they both mean being fruitful, whether it’s by giving birth to babies, or by giving birth to books. In other words, I am convinced that the best defense is a good offense. Of course, I am not advocating abandoning defensive strategies to end abortion. When I was in the seminary, a group of us would gather every Saturday to pray the rosary at a local abortion clinic. Such strategies are good and effective. Those who feel called to do so, should not hesitate to do so-called “side-walk counseling.”

But I also invite you to be pro-life by being prolific with your gifts and talents with which God has blessed you. Maybe you are able to have multiple children, or as a friend of mine likes to say, she is a “fertile myrtle.” If her husband just walks by and brushes her arm, she gets pregnant. Those of us called to celibacy, however, can also be pro-life by being prolific by giving birth to books, or building a vibrant bible study group, or creating an engaging youth ministry program, or giving generously to charity and underwriting pro-life programs and causes. Basically, there are a billion different ways to build the “culture of life and civilization of love” as Pope St. John Paul II so beautifully put it.

Today, don’t just think of defensive strategies to promote the cause of life, but also offensive ones. Ask God to help you discover your gifts and talents, and then go be prolific with them. St. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 12:7, “To each the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” We manifest the Holy Spirit in our actions when we are prolific with our gifts and talents, and that is the best way to be pro-life. In the end the pro-life side will win. Why? Well, because we will be the side having more babies.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Ignorance of Isaiah

Choosing Old Testament saints for Hall of Fame

01/21/2020

Mark 2:23-28 As Jesus was passing through a field of grain on the sabbath, his disciples began to make a path while picking the heads of grain. At this the Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” He said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry? How he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest and ate the bread of offering that only the priests could lawfully eat, and shared it with his companions?” Then he said to them, “The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath. That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.”

If you could choose any figure from the Old Testament to be your hero, who would you vote for? Imagine an Old Testament Hall of Fame like that for pro football in Canton, Ohio. Perhaps it would be a priest like the mysterious Melchizedek we meet in Genesis 14. Indeed even the ancient Abraham offers him a tithe from his winnings after the war against five kings. By the way, Melchizedek received my vote in seminary for the Hall of Fame because I wrote my master’s thesis on him entitled: “Who the Heck is Melchizedek?” Or, maybe your vote would land on a royal kingly figure like David or Solomon, Hezekiah or Josiah. These men not only wielded great power but also great wisdom and even more importantly, great love. Shouldn’t all leaders exhibit those three qualities? Or, you may feel one of the prodigious prophets would win your vote. Certainly you cannot go wrong with Isaiah or Jeremiah, or Ezekiel or Elijah, or the greatest of all, Elisha, who doesn’t get much fanfare in the scriptures, even though Elisha performs 16 miracles while Elijah performed only 8. Surveying the Old Testament serves up a sweeping smorgasbord of priests, prophets and kings we might vote for as our favorite figures of the Chosen People.

Our scriptures today, however, suggest who God the Father and God the Son would choose as their favorite Old Testament figure, namely, David. In the first reading, the prophet Samuel is sent to the house of Jesse to anoint a new king, as successor to Saul. Jesse presents seven sons to Samuel, but God rejects them all. Why? God explains his divine strategy to Samuel: “Not as man sees does God see, because he sees the appearance, but the Lord looks into the heart.” Sadly, don’t we often judge by appearances? Finally, Jesse brings forward his youngest son, a shepherd boy named David, and God chooses him because he is a man after God’s own heart.

In the gospel, Jesus shows his predilection for David by citing David’s kingly and priestly behavior even though it offended the corrupt high priest Abiathar. In the same way, Jesus’ behavior would offend the corrupt high priests in his day. We might say that King David served as Jesus role model and perhaps even his royal mentor. If both the Father and the Son are fond of King David, then that certainly says a lot for him.

My friends, as you attend daily Mass and hear the stories of these Old Testament saints and sages, don’t ignore them or conclude they are of no consequence. Don’t let these stories go in one ear and out the other, impatient to get to the New Testament and Gospel readings, to the stuff that really matters. These priests, prophets and kings laid the foundations upon which Jesus would build his kingdom. Revelation 4:4 mentions 24 elders who sit on 24 thrones before the Lord. Who are they? 12 of them are the apostles Jesus chose in the New Testament, and 12 are the patriarchs of the tribes of Israel that God the Father chose in the Old Testament. In other words, they are all important in heaven, and therefore they should also be important on earth.

Create your own Old Testament Hall of Fame, and induct those who capture your imagination and give you inspiration to be a better bible Catholic. And by the way, don't forget the wonderful women of the Old Testament, like Sarah, Abraham’s wife, Ruth the Moabite, Deborah the great Judge, Esther the Queen who saved all the Jews, to name but a few. Why is it perilous to pass over the Old Testament like yesterday’s newspaper and focus exclusively on the New Testament? Well, St. Jerome famously admonished us in his introduction to the book of Isaiah: “Ignorance of scripture is ignorance of Christ.” Since he said that in reference to Isaiah in the Old Testament, clearly he meant both Old and New Testaments are vital to know Christ, both are equally inspired word of God. No doubt Jerome would have added Isaiah to his own Hall of Fame.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Glory Days

Setting sail on the high seas of life and love

01/18/2020

Mark 2:13-17 Jesus went out along the sea. All the crowd came to him and he taught them. As he passed by, he saw Levi, son of Alphaeus, sitting at the customs post. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed Jesus. While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners sat with Jesus and his disciples; for there were many who followed him. Some scribes who were Pharisees saw that Jesus was eating with sinners and tax collectors and said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus heard this and said to them, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

One of the things I love most about Fort Smith is the rhythm and routine of life here. People prefer a certain predictability that produces peace. When I first arrived here over six years ago, I often remarked: “It feels like I’m back in 1985.” I mean that in the best sense possible, of course, because my own life was great in 1985 as a teenager in high school, living the glory days of my youth. Fort Smith rightly boasts a strong spirit of stability and tradition that is ingrained by generations of people who live in the same neighborhoods, work at the same jobs, and worship at the same churches. And that’s all good. But sometimes God enters our life like a thunderclap out of the blue, and disrupts the drumbeat of daily routine. And God throws us off our game.

This uncanny and unexpected intrusion happens again and again in sacred scripture. In the first book of Samuel, Saul is minding his own business, searching for the missing asses of his father, Kish. Suddenly and without warning, Samuel appears like a thunderbolt, and anoints him king of all Israel. Henceforth, Saul would be searching for the missing asses of the Chosen People. In the gospel of Mark, Jesus bursts into the life of Levi (later known as Matthew) minding his own business collecting taxes for Caesar. Jesus calls him to be an apostle and therefore start collecting souls for the true King of Kings, Christ. In other words, both Saul and Samuel were sort of enjoying 1985 in their own world of routine and rhythm, when God bursts in, inviting them to stop minding their own business so they could start minding God’s business.

My friends, I believe God is constantly bursting into our lives and disrupting that daily drumbeat of routine. Sometimes he does that in dramatic ways, like in the life of Saul and Levi. More often, however, he prefers the smaller and more subtle ways, like at Mass hearing a moving homily, or at lunch visiting with a friend who shares their grace-filled experience, or in the quiet prayer of Adoration where the Lord nudges you to get involved in something you’ve never tried before.

At that moment of hearing the call, we have a choice to make. We can return to the routine and regularity of what’s familiar and safe, or we can launch out into a new adventure helped by God’s grace. I love the quotation by John A. Shedd, who observed: “A ship in harbor is safe – but that is not what ships are built for.” Each person was created in the image and likeness of God – like a great ship – not to be safe at harbor, but out on the high seas of life and love. I also love J. R. R. Tolkien’s admonition in The Lord of the Rings, a conversation between two hobbits. Frodo’s uncle, Bilbo, warns his little nephew: “It’s a danger business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.” In other words, sometimes we have to step out of our own homes and harbors, where we mind our own business, in order to step out into the wild world and high seas of God’s business. And that’s always “dangerous business.”

When we take that great step, we discover another great truth: our glory days do not lie behind us in 1985, but rather ahead of us, and ultimately they lie in the glory of heaven.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Holiness Code

Seeing how Jesus heals the Holiness Code

01/17/2020

Mark 1:40-45 A leper came to him and kneeling down begged him and said, “If you wish, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched the leper, and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean.” The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean. Then, warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once. Then he said to him, “See that you tell no one anything, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.” The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter. He spread the report abroad so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly. He remained outside in deserted places, and people kept coming to him from everywhere.

One of the things I am enjoying in preparing for the bible study on Luke is learning about Leviticus, the third book of the bible. What does Leviticus, the third book of the Old Testament, have to do with Luke, the third book of the New Testament? St. Augustine said the New Testament is hidden in the Old and the Old Testament is revealed in the New. One sheds light on the other. The word “Leviticus” comes from “Levi,” one of the twelve tribes of Israel ordained to be the priestly tribe of the Chosen People. Hence, Leviticus contains all the laws for the priests, their duty to minister in the tabernacle, their personal holiness, and how they help the people to be holy. Indeed, the second half of Leviticus, chapters 17-26, is often called the Holiness Code.

What was the Holiness Code? That code outlined those things that made a person –priests as well as people – ritually unclean or impure, and therefore excluded from the community, essentially like a modern day excommunication. There were three main causes of ritual impurity: (1) touching a corpse, (2) touching a leper, and (3) touching a menstruating woman (sorry ladies!). The idea behind the Holiness Code was basically a “quarantine spirituality.” In other words, God was teaching his people how to be holy by avoiding people and places that might tempt them to abandon God’s ways in the Ten Commandments. Don’t many parents teach their children a similar strategy, a quarantine mentality, when they are younger? Don’t play with those boys. You’ll go to a Catholic school. Don’t watch MTV. In effect, these people and places and programs made children unclean, impure, unholy. Leviticus taught the Chosen People a circle-the-wagons spirituality, that many parents wisely teach their children today.

Now, perhaps, we can see why Jesus’ action toward a leper in the gospel today was so shocking and scandalizing to the Jews. We read: “Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand, touched the leper, and said to him, ‘I do will it. Be made clean.’ The leprosy left him immediately and he was made clean.” In other words, Jesus is not only healing the leper, in a sense, he is even healing the Holiness Code of Leviticus. How so? Well, Jesus is announcing a new spirituality and a new Holiness Code, not based on quarantining yourself from others who make you impure, but rather, going out into the world and allowing God’s grace to work through you to purify the world.

You might almost say the dawn of the New Testament is the moment when the Old Testament reaches maturity and manhood. Why? Well, because at some point you cannot keep protecting your children from the world – indeed, that’s what ghettos essentially are: segregated spaces to protect you from the impurities of the world. Rather, you must give them wisdom and grace to go out into the world. That is, Christians must touch, transform and heal the world around us, like Jesus reached out and touched the leper in the gospel.

My friends, where are you in this spectrum of spirituality? What Holiness Code do you obey and teach your children? Are you stuck in Leviticus and circling the wagons, pronouncing others as impure and excluding them from the Christian community? The real danger, of course, is excluding problematic people from our hearts. That is, we create a sort of “ghetto mentality” in our interior life, segregating ourselves from sources of impurity. And by the way, there is a proper time and place for segregation and separation, like not sitting in the LSU student section when the Razorbacks play them in basketball.

Perhaps a better spirituality is the Holiness Code of Jesus Christ, the other end of the spectrum, which invites us to reach out and touch the ritually, the socially, the morally, the mentally, the emotionally, the economically, the legally, the politically unclean. That is, we reach out and touch and heal anyone we have shut out of our hearts and take them by the hand and bring them back into our hearts, and love them.

When the leper said to Jesus, “If you wish, you can make me clean,” he was also directing those words in a broader sense to all of us: if we wish, we can make the lepers in our lives clean too. We just have to reach out and touch them with our love. And that is what Leviticus has to do with Luke, and what it has to do with you and with me.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Highway to Happiness

Discovering our gifts, our talents and our happiness

01/15/2019

1 Samuel 3:1-10, 19-20 During the time young Samuel was minister to the LORD under Eli, a revelation of the LORD was uncommon and vision infrequent. One day Eli was asleep in his usual place. His eyes had lately grown so weak that he could not see. The lamp of God was not yet extinguished, and Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the LORD where the ark of God was. The LORD called to Samuel, who answered, “Here I am.” Samuel ran to Eli and said, “Here I am. You called me.” “I did not call you,” Eli said. “Go back to sleep.” So he went back to sleep. Again the LORD called Samuel, who rose and went to Eli. “Here I am,” he said. “You called me.” But Eli answered, “I did not call you, my son. Go back to sleep.” At that time Samuel was not familiar with the LORD, because the LORD had not revealed anything to him as yet. The LORD called Samuel again, for the third time. Getting up and going to Eli, he said, “Here I am. You called me.” Then Eli understood that the LORD was calling the youth. So Eli said to Samuel, “Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply, ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.’” When Samuel went to sleep in his place, the LORD came and revealed his presence, calling out as before, “Samuel, Samuel!” Samuel answered, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” Samuel grew up, and the LORD was with him, not permitting any word of his to be without effect. Thus all Israel from Dan to Beersheba came to know that Samuel was an accredited prophet of the LORD.

Dr. Hollenbeck said something yesterday to the 6th graders visiting Trinity that I wish you all could have heard. I am paraphrasing slightly but essentially she encouraged those future 7th graders to be fearless in trying different activities in junior high, like sports, quiz bowl, drama, dance, altar server, ambassador, cheer and now soccer, etc. And I am so proud of all you students who have jumped into new activities with both feet. Why did she say that? Well, because they might be surprised by what they are good at; they might discover a hidden talent they were ignorant of, like perhaps many of you have already.

And do you know what you feel when you do something that you’re really good at? You feel joy, deep and lasting happiness that no one can take away from you. It’s like that old saying: “When you do what you love, you will never work a day in your life.” I love being a priest, and I feel like I have been on vacation for the past 23 years! In other words, Dr. Hollenbeck was inviting those 6th graders to find the fast road to happiness and the most fulfilling life possible.

Let me give you three tools you can use to build on the foundation Dr. Hollenbeck laid yesterday. That is, how do you discover your hidden talents and enjoy the happiest life possible? First, you ask the One who made and created you, namely, God. You ask in prayer with your lips and you listen with your heart to his answer. Since God made you, he knows you better than anyone (even better than you know yourself), and he knows what he made you for. An architect of a house knows every detail and design feature of his building, and that’s how God knows us, and he knows best what talents he has blessed us with.

In the first reading, it took little Samuel three tries to learn to listen to God to find his hidden talent to be a prophet. But what happened after he discovered his gift in prayer? We read: “Samuel grew up, and the Lord was with him, not permitting any word of his to be without effect.” Samuel found deep joy in doing what God made him for. I bet he felt like he never worked a day in his life as a prophet. It was pure joy.

The second tool is to ask other people, like your parents, your teachers, your coaches, your friends, and yes, even your priests. Other people see things in us that we can often miss ourselves. Sometimes we have an exaggerated opinion of ourselves and think we’re better than we are. Some boys think they are God’s gift to women. I’m sure we don’t have any boys that think that here at Trinity. On the other hand, we may be too hard on ourselves, and think we are no good at anything. Both views are mistaken. Other people, however, especially trusted adults – can help us see our true selves, and also help us find our hidden talents and treasures.

You know, I keep wishing that poor Claire Schluterman had been able to hear her family and friends say how special she is so she didn’t have to take that sad final step of her life. In other words, discovering our talents and abilities is not only the fast road to happiness; it is also a useful way to avoid depression and sadness.

And thirdly, ask your race or ethnic background about your talents and strengths. What do I mean? Have you noticed how people from some parts of the world or certain cultures tend to be good at certain activities? By the way, I recently saw this hilarious video on Youtube by a Mexican comedian named “Fluffy,” who satirizes how Indian people (like me) are so hard working and so nice that they could never rob a bank. It’s hilarious and I hope you watch it. Without being rudely racist or sound stereotypical, I believe each race and ethnicity on earth possesses certain gifts and talents, and if you belong to a certain race, you, too, maybe blessed with that gift.

By the way, that’s one reason I love the cultural diversity here at Trinity, and I’m so pleased we celebrate those differences. That only means we are able to tap into more gifts and talents and make our school better than ever. Many of you are a mix of cultures, which is okay, too, because you can choose from any of them and tap into their riches. When you learn the history of your heritage you are learning how to drive on the highway to happiness.

Boys and girls, more than anything else, we here at Trinity want you to be supremely happy. One essential ingredient in the recipe of human happiness is finding your gifts and talents, like Dr. Hollenbeck suggested yesterday. To do that, ask God who made you, ask others who love you, and ask the heritage your spring from. Then, you too will love what you do, and never work a day in your life.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Bible Bread Crumbs

Following the trail to table fellowship

01/07/2020

Mark 6:34-44 When Jesus saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. By now it was already late and his disciples approached him and said, “This is a deserted place and it is already very late. Dismiss them so that they can go to the surrounding farms and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” He said to them in reply, “Give them some food yourselves.” But they said to him, “Are we to buy two hundred days’ wages worth of food and give it to them to eat?” He asked them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out they said, “Five loaves and two fish.” So he gave orders to have them sit down in groups on the green grass. The people took their places in rows by hundreds and by fifties. Then, taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; he also divided the two fish among them all. They all ate and were satisfied. And they picked up twelve wicker baskets full of fragments and what was left of the fish. Those who ate of the loaves were five thousand men.

Last night we had our last class on the gospel of Mark and we ended on the Eucharist. I though the Eucharist was a fitting conclusion not only because it brings together all the loose strands of thought in the gospel of Mark, but also because the Eucharist captures the essence and end of the whole Bible. To be sure, there are many meaningful motifs and ancient analogies interspersed throughout the scriptures, but one is unmistakable and stands out above all the others, namely, food and feeding, eating and the Eucharist, in a word, table fellowship. As we say today: “You gotta eat!”

Doesn’t this table fellowship also punctuate our personal and public life? Parents enjoy preparing a meal so families can sit down to eat supper together. Young couples enjoy going out for romantic candle-lit meals. We all sit down for three meals a day. Or, like my friend, Fr. Erik Pohlmeier likes to day: “I never miss breakfast – it’s the most important meal of the morning!”

Similarly, from the first book of Genesis to the last book of Revelation, the Bible leaves us bread crumbs as clues of the Eucharist. The inspired authors hope we catch the connection between how essential eating is to our daily lives to how indispensable eating is to our spiritual lives. For example, in Genesis 14, Abraham meets the mysterious Melchizedek the high priest of God Most High, and what do they do? They offer a thanksgiving sacrifice of bread and wine, and they enjoy table fellowship. That meal with Melchizedek was a clear foreshadowing of the Eucharist, the future meal with the Messiah.

In the last book of Revelation 3:20, Jesus stands at the door of our hearts and knocks, waiting for us to open to him. And what does Jesus want to do if we let him enter? Jesus says: “I will enter his house and dine with him and he with me.” Did you catch the connection with Communion, literally “bread crumbs” the Bible leaves us to teach us about table fellowship? In other words, the Bible leaves us clues like bread crumbs from Genesis to Revelation so we will follow those crumbs to table fellowship at the Mass. At Mass the table of the Word should lead easily, effectively and enjoyably to the table of the Eucharist.

In the gospel today we read from Mark 6 and pick up another Bible bread crumb very suggestive of the Eucharist. Jesus multiples 5 loaves and 2 fish and Mark describes his actions using four key words: he took, he blessed, he broke and he gave. If you fast-forward to the Last Supper scene in Mark 14:22, you find the exact same four words: “While they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, and said, ‘Take it; this is my body’.” Did you pick up the bread crumb clue that St. Mark left us in Mark 6 to prepare us for Mark 14, and ultimately to lead us to the Eucharist, where Jesus will feed not five thousand men, but the hungry multitudes across the millennia – you and me – with the Bread that is his Body? The Eucharist is not the most important meal of the morning. It is the most important meal, period.

I ended the last class on the gospel of Mark with some quotations from the saints on the Eucharist. I wanted them to hear not only the testimony of scripture but also the voices of the saints speaking about this most important meal, our table fellowship with Christ. St. Augustine in the fourth century wrote: “Recognize in this bread what hung on the cross, and in this chalice what flowed from his side…whatever was in many and varied ways announced beforehand in the sacrifices of the Old Testament pertains to this one sacrifice which is revealed in the New Testament.” Few people are more eloquent about the Eucharist than St. Augustine!

St. Thomas Aquinas, one of my favorite saints, said things more succinctly; he said a lot with a little. He wrote in the 13th century: “The proper effect of the Eucharist is the transformation of man into God.” That brief sentence pretty much sums it all up: the Mass makes us like God. In our own day, St. Teresa of Calcutta said movingly: “Jesus has made himself the Bread of life to give us life. Night and day, he is there. If you really want to grow in love, come back to the Eucharist, come back to that Adoration.”

In other words, both the scriptures and the saints sing the praises of table fellowship that is the Eucharist we celebrate every Sunday, or maybe every day. Meditating on the Mass is not only a good way to end a study on the gospel of Mark; the Eucharist is a good way to end everything.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Purpose Driven

Learning to live with higher purpose like Jesus

01/06/2020

Matthew 4:12-17, 23-25 When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled: Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles,the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light,on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen. From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people.

One of the things I’m discovering as I delver deeper into bible studies – like Mark (which we just finished) and Luke (which we’re about to start) – is how Jesus fulfilled his ministry as the Messiah. I don’t know about you, but I used to think Jesus just sort of wandered around the Judean countryside curing the sick and spouting off spiritual lessons. But the closer you look at our Lord’s life, you discover his path is marked by an intense itinerary and a deliberate destiny. There was nothing accidental or arbitrary in our Lord’s life, and certainly not in his death.

Have you ever read Pastor Rick Warren’s popular book called A Purpose Driven Life? It opens with this great line, where Warren insists: ‘It’s not about you.” The world in which we live today, on the other hand, teaches the exact opposite, crying: “It’s all about you! You are the center of the universe.” The purpose that drove Jesus’ life, however, was the Father’s plan, doing what pleased the Father even at the cost of Jesus’ own will and ultimately his own life. In other words, to live a truly purpose driven life is to live for a higher purpose than you own plans and pleasures.

Now, how did our Lord learn the Father’s will, the higher purpose that drove each of his decisions? I think Jesus had three guideposts: first, daily and deep prayer, second, saintly people surrounding him, and third, visiting sacred places. In the gospel today, Jesus begins his Galilean ministry, and that would consume the lion’s share of his public life, from 30 years of age to 33, when he finally travels to Jerusalem to die and rise. In Galilee, Jesus calls his disciples, he walks on the water, he preaches the Sermon on the Mount, and he does so much more.

But how did Jesus know when to begin his Galilean ministry? Our Lord’s public life was triggered by St. John the Baptist. The first line of today’s gospel reads: “When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee.” By the way, I love what happens to the daylight (at least in the northern hemisphere). Have you noticed? Every day after Christmas, the sunlight starts to increase slowly but surely, up to about the middle of June. And what does the Church celebrate on June 24th? The birthday of John the Baptist. Just like John the Baptist said in John 3:30: “He must increase and I must decrease.” In other words, the book of Nature echoes the Book of the Gospels in teaching how Jesus’ every move was premeditated and intimately intertwined with the life of John the Baptist, his precursor. The three signposts of personal prayer, holy people, and sacred places, guided our Lord to live the most perfect purpose driven life possible.

My friends, how do you go about deciding the path and purpose of your life? Do you flip a coin and go with heads or tails? Are you chasing money or a job promotion? Is it fame and fortune that makes you jump out of bed? It’s interesting to talk with high school and college students when they come home for breaks. When I ask them what their major is or what they want to do with their life, they answer: “I want to do such-and-such, but ask me again next semester and I might want to do something else!” And I would have probably answered the same way when I was in college. Many of them feel like a ship without a rudder being tossed about by the winds and waves of this world.

Part of the problem, I believe is they are trying to find the meaning of life by asking the question: “What do I want to do?” That’s an important question, but it is not the first or fundamental question. Like Rick Warren insisted: “It’s not about you.” Instead, I believe, the far better question is to ask: “What does God want me to do?” There is a world of difference between those two question: “What do I want to do?” and “What does God want me to do?” Indeed, it is the difference between this world and the next. That is, we make radically difference choices when what matters most is our final destiny in heaven, when the purpose of our lives is driven by God’s desires for us, not our own.

Ultimately, the reason to pursue a purpose driven life, like Jesus is to be happy. The higher the purpose of our life, the higher the happiness we will experience. And the highest purpose can be summarized by the Baptist’s own words in John 3:30: “He must increase and I must decrease.” But you don’t have to believe the Baptist, just watch the sunlight outside each day, and Creation herself will tell you.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Aquinas' Advice

Learning the art of gift-giving from Aquinas

01/05/2020

Matthew 2:1-12 When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.” After their audience with the king they set out. And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.

Over 800 years ago, the great medieval theologian, St. Thomas Aquinas taught the most rudimentary rule of all gift-giving. He wrote in his timeless Summa Theologica, “Quidquid recipitur ad modum recipientis recipitur,” which, as all you Latin scholars know, means “a gift is given in the mode of the recipient.” When you give a gift, you should think of what the recipient would like to receive, not what you would like to give, or what you want to get rid of. For example, I did not receive on necktie from anyone this Christmas. Congratulations: you have studied your Aquinas very well.

Listen to this little joke and see if the man has also been a good student of Aquinas. While attending a Marriage Weekend, Frank and his wife, Ann, listened to the instructor declare: “It is essential that husbands and wives know the things that are important to each other.” He then addressed the men: “Can you name and describe your wife’s favorite flower?” Frank leaned over, touched Ann’s arm gently, and whispered, “Gold Medal All-Purpose, isn’t it?” And thus began Frank’s life of celibacy. But notice the critical mistake Frank made: he was thinking more about his hunger – what cake his wife might bake – rather than his wife’s heart – whether she prefers carnations or chrysanthemums, jonquils or geraniums. A gift is given in the mode of the recipient.

In the gospel today, Matthew records the episode of the visit of the three Magi. And on the surface, it seems that the Magi have also failed to study Thomas Aquinas, because what are the gifts they give to the Baby Jesus? They proudly present him with gold, frankincense and myrrh. Mary and Joseph probably thought, “With all due respect, your highnesses, we really could use some more diapers, formula and a nice teething ring instead.” Gold, frankincense and myrrh seemed like the spiritual equivalent of giving a priest a necktie for Christmas.

But Billy Graham, the great evangelical preacher, helped me understand that these presents were just perfect for the Holy Family at that time. Graham explained: “When the wise men found Jesus, their gifts to Him must have almost overwhelmed Mary and Joseph (because they were so poor and wouldn’t have expected such lavish gifts).” He continued by asking: “What did they do with them? The Bible doesn’t say – but immediately after the wise men leave, King Herod became filled with jealousy and fear. As a result, King Herod ordered every small child in Bethlehem to be killed. God protected Jesus, warning Joseph in a dream to flee to Egypt that very night.” Then Graham draws this conclusion: “Without the wise men’s gifts, they would not have been able to survive in safety.” In other words, gold, frankincense and myrrh, were the ideal gifts the Holy Family needed to survive in Egypt, where they would have been precious commodities. They sold them for plenty of diapers, formula and teething rings. A gift is given in the mode of the recipient.

My friends, do you realize that gift-giving occurs all year long, and not only at Christmas? In a sense, we give gifts to one another and to God every day: the gift of our words or of our silence, the gifts of our actions or our stillness, the gift of our time which is so scarce these days, and especially the gift of our undivided attention. How hard it is to get someone’s full and focused attention these days. Some of you are probably making your grocery list in your minds now; don’t forget the Gold-Medal All Purpose flour.

I approach homily preparation in this spirit of gift-giving. How so? Well, I try to see every homily as a gift I try to prepare for you, keeping Aquinas in mind: “a gift is given in the mode of the recipient.” That is, I try to make the homily engaging, and educational, and yes, even entertaining with a joke or two. And by the way, we are blessed to have priests and deacons here at I.C. who give exceptional homilies. On the other hand, when Catholics do not receive the gift of a good homily, what do they do? Some stop coming to Mass and start attending other churches. Protestant pastors know Thomas Aquinas better than Catholic priests do.

This rule of gift-giving is also the key to unlocking the door to a happy marriage. Spouses find satisfaction in their marriage when both husband and wife take time to give “gifts in the mode of the recipient.” In other words, Frank knows that Ann’s favorite flower is not “Gold-Medal All Purpose” but rather Amaryllises. And Ann, for her part, knows what touches Frank’s heart – sports, hunting or Fr. John’s bible study – and she works hard to give that to him as a gift. But sadly, struggling spouses forget this fundamental rule of gift-giving, and sometimes they forget gift-giving all together. And what happens? They start to search for someone else who is a better gift-giver, someone who has studied his or her St. Thomas Aquinas.

In the final analysis, we eventually discover that everything we have is a gift from God: our next breath, every beat of our heart, each blink of our eyes. If we have received everything from God as a gift, then what can possibly we give him in return? Well, we cannot give him anything material because then we would be guilty of re-gifting. There is only one thing God wants because there is only one thing God does not have, namely, our love. Today and every day, give God the gift of your love. Why? Well, because Aquinas taught over 800 years ago: a gift is given in the mode of the recipient.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Roaring Twenties

Finding the fullness of time all the time

01/01/2020

Luke 2:16-21 The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child. All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds. And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them. When eight days were completed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

Every generation tends to think it enjoyed the Golden Age of humanity. We all believe life was better when we were young, much better than it was before us or will be after us, because it’s all going you-know-where in a handbasket. “Ah, the good old days!” we pine, as we look down our noses at other generations. I was visiting a family for dinner recently and found myself boasting that 1980’s rock and roll was the best rock-n-roll of all time. The 14 year-old daughter shook her head in disagreement, and asked, “Then why are they just screaming all the time?” And suddenly it hit me that many rock bands in the 80’s did in fact scream a lot. But 80’s rock is still the best. If you grew up in the 70’s you probably think that era was the Golden Age of rock, and likewise those who came of age in the 90’s believe their music was the “Age of Aquarius.” And so on and so forth.

Every age, however, is closer to Charles Dicken’s unforgettable opening lines of his classic A Tale of Two Cities, which begins: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” In other words, every age has highs and lows, good and bad, saints and sinners. It takes a big dose of honest to admit that, and even more humility to accept that.

There was one age, however, that towers over all the others like a true Golden Age, indeed, it was the “fullness of time.” That is, it was the miraculous moment when God sent his Son to be born in Bethlehem, when God became a Baby. We read in St. Paul’s letter to the Galatians: “When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” Now, many Jews of the first century would dispute Paul’s claim that age should be called Golden, like my 14 year-old friend disagreed about the 1980’s rock being the best. After all, Judea was under Roman occupation; remember Pontius Pilate who served at the pleasure of Cesar? Furthermore, in 70 A.D. Jerusalem and the Temple were completely destroyed and over 1 million Jews slaughtered, according to the Jewish historian Josephus. And yet, those with the eyes of faith, like St. Paul, saw below the surface and glimpsed the glowing grace and saw that moment as the “fullness of time.”

In today’s gospel of Luke 2, we read about someone else who saw the hidden grace and the fullness of time in that marvelous moment, namely, Mary. Luke records: “Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.” What mother does not always see below the surface of her children’s lives and see the “golden age” no matter how much her children may be struggling or suffering? In other words, while every epoch has highs and lows, tribulations and triumphs, the birth of the Messiah was the high watermark of all history, the Golden Age of Grace. Why? Well, everything that came before led up to it and all that transpires after is profoundly changed by it. Indeed, we even mark the years as “B.C.” meaning “Before Christ,” or “A.D.” meaning “Anno Domini,” Latin for “in the year of our Lord.” (AD does not mean "After Death.") The birth of Christ marked the fullness of time because that was the moment the fullness of grace invaded our weary world – residing principally in Jesus and Mary – even though on the surface, history hobbled along as the best of times and the worst of times.

My friends, today we stand on the doorstep not only of a new year, but also of a new decade, we start the Roaring Twenties! How do you feel about that? As we glance backward, our eyes sweep not only one year in review but 10 years. Can you not easily pick out the best of times and the worst of times, the wisdom and the foolishness, the belief and the incredulity, the light and the darkness, the hope and the despair that have punctuated the last year and the last decade? Personally, one highlight for me was turning 50 years old last year, and one lowlight was the Razorback football season. Would it much of a stretch to say this coming year and even the coming decade will hold more of the same? I don’t think that’s a stretch, that’s virtually a guarantee.

Instead of skimming the surface, however, let me invite you to peer below the externals into the depths with the eyes of faith, where grace and goodness often lie hidden. And because Jesus came 2,020 years ago, in that original “fullness of time,” he has planted the seeds of the “fullness of grace” that blossom in every epoch and in every era. Jesus’ birth has made every time the fullness of time. How so? That fullness of grace is available to us in the sacraments and in the scriptures. Like Mary, we have to keep all these things, and reflect on them in our hearts. That is, we must contemplate the signs of the times in the light of faith, and see how the fullness of time exists in every age.

It is with this “spring of hope” that I want to wish each of you a Happy New Year and a Happy New Decade! It is indeed the best of times and the worst of times, but thanks to the birth of Christ, it is also the fullness of times.

Praised be Jesus Christ!